Pastor Choi Jae-young attends a hearing of the legislation and judiciary committee at the National Assembly in Seoul, July 26. Yonhap

Rival parties clashed on Friday after the first lady failed to show up as a witness at a parliamentary hearing held to review an online petition demanding the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The legislation and judiciary committee addressed the petition urging the National Assembly to propose a bill to impeach Yoon citing five reasons, including first lady Kim Keon Hee's acceptance of a luxury bag and stock manipulation allegations.

Kim, who was chosen as a witness by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), did not attend the hearing.

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) argued that the first lady has no obligation to attend the hearing, claiming that the hearing itself is illegal.

The DPK criticized the first lady and other witnesses, including Kim's mother and presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-suk, for not appearing at the hearing without valid reasons, calling it an attempt to "conceal the truth."

Five other key witnesses, such as Prosecutor General Lee One-seok, submitted written documents beforehand explaining their absences.

The first lady is accused of being involved in manipulating the stock prices of Deutsch Motors, a BMW car dealer in Korea, between 2009 and 2012.

Kim also faces allegations she illegally received a handbag worth about 3 million won ($2,164) and other expensive gifts from pastor Choi Jae-young in September 2022 allegedly in exchange for favors. (Yonhap)