First lady Kim Keon Hee listens to President Yoon Suk Yeol's speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Sept. 20, 2023. Newsis

A slew of controversies surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee has haunted President Yoon Suk Yeol even before he took office in May 2022. Left unaddressed, these scandals became a major factor in Yoon's dramatic fall from grace, as the president now awaits impeachment proceedings at the Constitutional Court.

The scandals related to Kim include allegations of stock manipulation, plagiarism of research papers, the acceptance of a Dior handbag and wielding undue influence on state affairs.

These controversies have overshadowed much of Yoon's policy agenda during his two and a half years in office, contributing to his plummeting approval ratings. But the prosecutor-turned-president dismissed these allegations as "exaggerated claims" by his political opponents and said his wife had been excessively "demonized."

However, these explanations failed to persuade the majority of the public, according to analysts.

"A major lapse in Yoon's approach to the first lady's issues stemmed from his mindset as a devoted husband, not a president. A true leader would have allowed the legal authorities to investigate the allegations surrounding their family, but Yoon was overly protective of his wife," said Lee Jae-mook, a politics professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. "This was not received well by the public."

Lee added that multiple polls have shown that Yoon's tone-deaf response to the first lady's scandals was one of the main reasons for his disapproval ratings.

A key scandal surrounding Kim erupted in November 2023 when a liberal YouTube news channel published footage showing a Korean American pastor gifting a Dior handbag to the first lady in September 2022. The pastor secretly filmed the interaction using a hidden camera.

Opposition parties accused Kim of violating the anti-graft law, but the presidential office defended her, claiming her to be a victim of a malicious political maneuver.

President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee board the presidential jet at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, June 10, for their state visit to Central Asian nations including Turkmanistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon

After a months-long investigation, prosecutors dropped all charges against Kim related to the handbag scandal in October.

Later that month, they also decided not to indict the first lady for her alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scheme involving Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer. Investigators concluded that manipulation had occurred, but Kim had not been aware that her financial accounts were being misused.

These decisions sparked a strong backlash from opposition parties.

Soon after, another scandal surfaced when self-proclaimed political broker Myung Tae-kyun came into the spotlight. He is currently under investigation for allegedly interfering in candidate nominations during the 2022 parliamentary by-elections through his ties with then-presidential candidate Yoon and his wife.

The first lady's involvement in these allegations surfaced when Myung disclosed screenshots of past text messages with Kim, in which she appeared to seek his advice during Yoon's presidential campaign.

Opposition parties, led by the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), have been pushing for a special counsel investigation into the first lady's scandals. The opposition-controlled National Assembly has passed three such bills, but all of them were derailed by Yoon's presidential veto, with the most recent rejection on Nov. 26.

People hold a rally demanding President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, Saturday. The parliamentary motion to impeach Yoon was passed with 204 votes in favor and 85 votes against. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

"Yoon has struggled to maintain a good relationship with the opposition bloc due to his poor communication style, with the issue surrounding the first lady serving as a major flashpoint. The escalating conflict ultimately pushed the president to the self-destructive decision of declaring martial law," Lee said.

Yoon declared martial law on Dec. 3, only to lift it six hours later following parliamentary pushback. The debacle dealt a final blow to the already unpopular president's political career. After the National Assembly passed the impeachment motion on Saturday, Yoon's duties have been suspended, with his power transferred to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.

These developments have placed the first lady in a precarious position. The power-stripped president will no longer be able to exercise his veto power on special counsel probe bills targeting his wife.

The Assembly passed a fourth version of the special counsel bill on Dec. 12, just two days before Yoon was impeached. The special counsel is tasked to look into more than a dozen allegations related to Kim.

Acting President Han Duck-soo attends a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik at the latter's office, Sunday. Yonhap

Kim's fate now hinges on whether Han, as the acting president, will veto the bill.

While it is technically legal for an acting president to reject a bill, there are only a few precedents, as interim leadership typically aims to minimize political disruptions.

Considering that Han himself is under investigation for treason related to the martial law fiasco, he may be restrained from making bold decisions. Moreover, as the opposition-controlled Assembly holds the power to impeach the prime minister, Han is likely to avoid provoking tensions with the DPK by wielding veto powers.

"The acting president does not have active powers such as the authority to make personnel appointments or veto bills," DPK lawmaker Rep. Kim Min-suk said during the party's meeting on Monday.

On the previous day, DPK leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung said, "Exercising a veto could be perceived as a politically biased move. I believe the acting president will not overstep the boundaries of his interim authority."