First lady Kim Keon Hee, center, attends a meeting in Washington, D.C., July 12. Yonhap

Prosecutors said Sunday that they have questioned first lady Kim Keon Hee over allegations that she received a Christian Dior handbag and other expensive gifts from a pastor, as well as her alleged involvement in a stock manipulation case.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said that Kim was questioned face-to-face at an undisclosed government building on Saturday for about 12 hours, ending at around 1:20 a.m.

The scandal centers on allegations that Kim illegally received the handbag worth about 3 million won ($2,158) and other expensive gifts from pastor Choi Jae-young in September 2022 allegedly in exchange for favors.

Kim's aide told prosecutors earlier this month that Kim ordered the return of the Dior bag she received as a gift from pastor Choi on the same day it was given, but the aide claimed she forgot to return the handbag because she was too busy with other tasks.

Separately, prosecutors questioned Kim face-to-face for the first time over her alleged involvement in a stock manipulation case involving Deutsch Motors, a BMW car dealer in Korea.

Prosecutors sent a written questionnaire to Kim last year but did not receive the necessary responses.

The stock manipulation case centers on allegations that Kwon Oh-soo, a former head of Deutsch Motors, conspired with influential market players to manipulate the company's stock prices between December 2009 and December 2012.

An appellate court is set to hand out a sentence on Kwon in September, following his suspended prison sentence in a district court. (Yonhap)