(2nd LD) First lady attends luncheon with Cambodian PM in return to public duties

All News 18:24 May 16, 2024

(ATTN: CHANGES photos)
By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, May 16 (Yonhap) -- First lady Kim Keon Hee attended an official luncheon with the visiting Cambodian prime minister Thursday, the presidential office said, marking her return to public duties after she withdrew in December amid corruption allegations.

The first lady joined President Yoon Suk Yeol, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and his wife during the luncheon, which was held at the presidential office following a summit between the leaders.

President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and first lady Kim Keon Hee (R) usher in Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet (2nd from L) and his wife, Pech Chanmony (2nd from R) to the presidential office in Seoul on May 16, 2024, in this photo provided by Yoon's office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The last time Kim appeared in public was in December when she returned with Yoon from a visit to the Netherlands.

She has since maintained a low profile amid allegations she illegally accepted a Christian Dior handbag from a Korean American pastor armed with a hidden camera in 2022.

According to a presidential official, Hun Manet expressed his gratitude to Yoon and Kim for the interest they took in a then 14-year-old Cambodian child with a congenital heart disease, both during their visit to Phnom Penh in November 2022 and afterward.

The child, whose name is Ratha, was brought to Seoul that year to receive surgery. Before returning to Cambodia, he met with Yoon and Kim at the presidential office.