▲ First lady Kim Keon Hee (C) and Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska (R) talk with a Ukrainian child in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 15, 2023, in this file photo provided by the presidential office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol (2nd from R) and first lady Kim Keon Hee (2nd from L) attend a Buddhist ceremony marking the return of 14th-century Buddhist relics from the United States to South Korea in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, on May 19, 2024. (Yonhap)
▲ First Lady Kim Keon Hee attends an exhibition by Ukrainian children held at the former presidential compound of Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on May 21, 2024, in this photo provided by the presidential office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
▲ First Lady Kim Keon Hee (2nd from R) looks at art pieces by Ukrainian children during an exhibition held at the former presidential compound of Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on May 21, 2024, in this photo provided by the presidential office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

first lady-exhibition

First lady attends exhibition by Ukrainian children

SEOUL, May 21 (Yonhap) -- First Lady Kim Keon Hee attended an exhibition by Ukrainian children Tuesday in her third public appearance after she avoided public view for five months following a luxury bag gift scandal.

Kim visited the exhibition held at the former presidential compound of Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, marking a rare solo appearance by her.

The presidential office said Kim played a role in bringing Ukrainian children's drawings to South Korea after her meeting with Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska, in July 2023 as part of the NATO summit spouses' program in Lithuania.

Kim had not been seen in public following a visit to the Netherlands on Dec. 15 until recently, amid allegations she illegally accepted a Christian Dior handbag from a Korean American pastor armed with a hidden camera in 2022.

Breaking a five-month hiatus, Kim joined President Yoon Suk Yeol's official luncheon with visiting Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and his wife on Thursday. The presidential office released several photos of her.

On Sunday, Kim accompanied Yoon's attendance at a ceremony celebrating the return of rare Buddhist relics from an American museum at a temple in Yangju, some 30 kilometers north of Seoul, with some 4,000 attendees on hand.

Her return to public view came after Yoon apologized for his wife's "unwise conduct" during a press conference held to mark the second anniversary of his taking office earlier this month.

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[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]