Đệ nhất phu nhân và chiếc túi Dior: Khủng hoảng chính trị bao trùm Hàn Quốc

-----

The president was grappling (vật lộn) with a slowing economy, a deadly crowd crush (đám đông đông đúc) and nuclear threats (mối đe dọa hạt nhân) from a belligerent (hiếu chiến) neighbor. Then came a much more personal scandal: spy cam footage that showed his wife accepting a $2,200 Dior pouch (túi) as a gift.

It has quickly escalated (leo thang) into one of the biggest political crises (khủng hoảng) for President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea, who has made his mark in foreign policy (chính sách đối ngoại) by aligning (gắn kết) his country more closely with the United States and Japan but has been bogged down by controversies (tranh cãi) at home, many of them involving the first lady, Kim Keon Hee.

The video of Ms. Kim, which emerged (xuất hiện) late last year, has caused a rift (rạn nứt) between Mr. Yoon and one of his most trusted lieutenants (cấp dưới). It has roiled (náo động) his political party — one senior (cấp cao) member called on Ms. Kim to apologize and compared her to Marie Antoinette. And, polls (cuộc thăm dò) show, it has become a significant issue ahead of crucial parliamentary elections (cuộc bầu cử quốc hội quan trọng) in an increasingly polarized (phân cực) political atmosphere.

For nearly two years, Ms. Kim has challenged how this deeply patriarchal (gia trưởng) society views the role of the presidential spouse. Unlike ​past first ladies, who typically remained in the shadow of their husband, she has reveled in media attention and even publicly pushed Mr. Yoon’s government to ban the breeding (chăn nuôi) and butchering (giết mổ) of dogs for human consumption. She has talked about Mr. Yoon’s devotion (tận tâm) to her, saying in 2022 that he had vowed (thề) to cook for her and “kept that promise for the past decade.”

source: nytimes,