Old photo falsely shared as ex-S. Korea first lady wearing 'controversial Chanel jacket' to hearing

"You're in for trouble," read a Korean-language Facebook post that shared the photo on July 8.

"She said she returned the jacket but then wore it again on the day of summoning."

The false post surfaced as Kim has been under investigation over allegations she failed to return a Chanel jacket decorated with Korean characters that she borrowed from the brand for a trip to France in 2018.

Chanel Korea said Kim had returned the jacket, and that it was later donated to the National Hangeul Museum in Seoul, which showcases the history of Korean orthography.

South Korean media reported the fashion house later changed its story and said the donated jacket was not the same one that Kim wore during the trip to France (archived link).

Chanel Korea spokesperson also told AFP on July 11 that "the jacket then-first lady Kim Jung-sook wore to her visit to France in 2018 was borrowed for single use and then returned to Chanel," adding that the jacket "is currently stored in Chanel's Patrimony collection."

The office of Kim's husband, former president Moon Jae-in, has maintained that she returned the jacket to Chanel (archived link).

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Screenshot of a Facebook post sharing the false claim, taken on July 10, 2024

But conservative activists unsatisfied with that response filed a criminal complaint against Kim on the whereabouts of the jacket, which prompted a prosecutorial investigation launched in January 2024 (archived link).

The photo was shared in similar Facebook posts here, here and here which falsely claimed it showed Kim wearing the jacket to her hearing.

Original photo

A keyword search found the photo published by South Korea's Yonhap news agency on October 15, 2018 (archived link).

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Screenshot of the original photo published on Yonhap's photo database captured on July 10

The photo shows Kim -- who is wearing the Chanel jacket linked to the probe -- posing with France's first lady Brigitte Macron in front of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre museum in Paris.

It was taken on October 15, 2018, according to Yonhap's photo caption.

Yonhap published various photos of Kim wearing the same jacket that day, including here, here and here (archived links here, here and here).

Below is a screenshot comparison between the image shared on Facebook (left) and Yonhap's photo (right).

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Screenshot comparison between the image shared on Facebook (left) and Yonhap's photo (right)

Kim and Macron can be seen wearing the same clothes in video footage of their Louvre visit also published by Yonhap on October 16, 2018 (archived link). 

The frame corresponding to the original Yonhap photo can be seen from the 22:08 timestamp.

While prosecutors on July 1 summoned the National Hangeul Museum's director for questioning, AFP has found no reports on the district prosecutors' website that showed Kim herself had been called up (archived link).

Kim has been a frequent target of misinformation, which AFP has previously debunked here and here.