First lady Kim Keon Hee sits in a car at London Stansted Airport at the end of a state visit to the United Kingdom, Nov. 23, 2023. Yonhap

The prosecution has launched an investigation into first lady Kim Keon Hee's acceptance of a luxury handbag from a pastor. The issue has been a bone of political contention for nearly half a year and was one of the factors in the ruling bloc's crushing defeat in the April 10 general elections.

The decision to open the investigation comes nearly five months after the allegation was raised. The opposition bloc believes that this investigation is aimed at avoiding a special counsel investigation, which the opposition plans to seek in the 22nd National Assembly to be launched at the end of this month.

Even though the probe finds her acceptance of the bag as a gift was related to President Yoon Suk Yeol's duties and, therefore, constitutes a violation of the anti-graft law, Kim may not be subject to punishment due to legal loopholes. Yet, conflicts between the rival parties might arise once more over whether to summon the first lady for questioning.

On Friday, Prosecutor General Lee One-seok ordered the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to set up a team dedicated to investigating the allegation that Kim received a Dior bag valued at around 3 million won ($2,206) from a Korean American pastor called Choi Jae-young in September 2022, about four months after Yoon's inauguration.

Choi allegedly conspired with YouTube-based media outlet Voice of Seoul to secretly film his meeting with Kim and the gifting of the bag. The media outlet released the footage last November and filed a complaint with the prosecution against Kim and Yoon for bribe acceptance and violating the anti-graft law.

However, the investigation had not gained momentum until recently, over concerns around the issue's potential influence on the April 10 general elections.

With the elections over, prosecutors say they will conduct a "swift and thorough" investigation. They plan to summon Choi and the CEO of Voice of Seoul soon.

Whether prosecutors will summon Kim for questioning remains to be seen — an issue that could cause another political conflict between the ruling and opposition blocs.

Also, legal experts say it may be difficult to charge Kim under the anti-graft act. The law prohibits a public official's spouse from receiving gifts worth more than 1 million won in one sitting, but this must be "in connection with the duties of the public official." And there is no clause about punishment for the spouse in case of violation.

Prosecutor General Lee One-seok answers questions from reporters at the Changwon District Public Prosecutors' Office in South Gyeongsang Province, April 23. Yonhap

Critics raised awareness about the sudden, speedy progress concerning the push for an investigation. Some accuse prosecutors of trying to prevent Kim from being the target of a special counsel investigation that is sought by the opposition.

Kim was the target of a special counsel probe for a separate case: Her alleged involvement in stock manipulation of Deutsch Motors, a BMW car dealer in Korea, between 2009 and 2012. A bill for the investigation was scrapped after the president vetoed it.

However, after achieving a decisive victory in the general elections, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) vowed to propose a special counsel probe bill again to investigate both the luxury bag and the stock manipulation cases once the new National Assembly goes into session later this month.

"This investigation by the prosecution shouldn't be aimed at covering up the allegations about the first lady," Choi Min-seok, the spokesperson of the DPK, said, Monday. "If prosecutors pretend to investigate with an aim to avoid a special counsel probe, the public won't accept it."

Rebuilding Party of Korea leader Cho Kuk, known for his vocal criticism of Yoon, called for an investigation into the allegations of Kim's stock manipulation.

"Prosecutors are trying to blindfold the public by pretending to conduct the Dior bag investigation. We need to pay more attention to whether they investigate the Deutsch Motors case when they summon Kim for questioning," Cho wrote on Facebook, Monday.