Prada: an unexpected beneficiary of Choi Soon-sil scandal

The brand tag attached on the surface of the shoes' insole was revealed after Choi Soon-sil left shoe came off while she struggled with an army of reporters to make her way into the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap

By Park Si-soo

"The Devil Wears Prada." This famous movie title became a reality, Monday, when Choi Soon-sil, the daughter of a late cult leader who has sparked a monstrous political scandal in the President Park Geun-hye administration, stepped into a prosecutors' office wearing the luxury black shoes.

The shoes' brand tag inside the shoe was revealed after her left shoe came off while she struggled with an army of reporters to make her way into the building.

The designer shoes reconfirmed Choi's affluent lifestyle that might have been sustained by illegal gains. Her luxury living was first brought to light when the prosecution raided her office in Seoul, Oct. 26, where investigators discovered shoe shelves packed with dozens of luxury brands.

The Prada shoes in question hit the Korean market early last year with a price tag of 720,000 won ($630), according to the firm's Seoul office. The company has since stopped producing the shoes.

Reflecting the scandal's magnitude, her shoes drew massive attention, making Prada one of the most searched for words on Korea's biggest portal, Naver.

"It is bad news in terms of brand management," a luxury industry insider said. "But it seems obvious that it helped boost people's awareness of the brand itself."

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