How much bling are you allowed to display in public?
Clockwise from top left, President-elect Park Geun-hye gets out of a car carrying a grey ostrich leather tote bag in her hands, which the media speculated was from local boutique Hormiga and cost over 1.2 million won; Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee, left, wears earmuffs from Louis Vuitton while campaigning for PyeongChang’s bid to host the Winter Olympics; President Lee Myung-bak’s granddaughter, right, wears a white down jacket from luxury French brand Moncler during the president’s trip to a bazaar; Former actress Shin Eun-ha, left, is photographed near a voting station, clad in designer clothes and accessories. / Korea Times photos
By Kim Da-ye
When President-elect Park Geun-hye was spotted earlier this month carrying a grey ostrich-leather tote bag, the media speculated it was made by Hormiga, a local boutique that specializes in exotic leather bags, and cost 1.28 million won.
As the media questioned whether Park should carry such an “expensive” bag, her spokesperson said that Park’s was made by a small business and cost much less than 1.28 million won.
Since when did Koreans ― the nation is among the four largest markets for French luxury brand Louis Vuitton and an over-6-million-won Chanel classic shoulder bag is often given as a wedding gift ― think that a 1.28 million won is a hefty price tag for a handmade leather bag?
In Korea, public figures avoid displays of excessive wealth which society believes creates disharmony between economic classes. There’s a bit of communism in us ― we feel that a politician or anyone who works on behalf of the public should be a commoner, or at least behave like a commoner.
That’s a big contrast to U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and former French first lady Carla Bruni who are fashion icons and wear a lot of designer clothes.
The amount of the wealth people can display in public depends on who they are.
Regarding businesspeople, the public in general, shows greater tolerance toward lavish displays.
“Luxury goods were formerly to aristocrats and royalty. The wealthy are the new aristocrats, and it is no problem for them to carry a bag that costs 10 to 20 million won,” said Jung Yun-ah, who owns a style consultancy, Imagetech Institute, and chairs the Global Image Consultant Association.
In 2007, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee wore earmuffs from Louis Vuitton when he was campaigned for Korea’s bid to host the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. According to the local media, the earmuffs from the 2006 fall/winter collection cost 2.46 million won and were made of chinchilla fur.
Whenever Lee’s family gather, the media scrutinizes what his daughters, Lee Boo-jin and Lee Seo-hyun, wear and admire how fashionable they are.
“Chairman Lee Kun-hee is among the world’s wealthiest people. It’s no problem at all even if he wears a 20-million-won suit,” said Jung.
But the same doesn’t apply to all businesspeople. Executives on salaries should be careful about displaying too much wealth to their senior colleagues as well as the junior staff.
“A suit for CEOs may cost up to 5 to 6 million won without leaving a bad impression while those for executives may be around 3 million won,” said Jung. “If executives wear extremely expensive suits, it may give the impression that he is pretentious.”
For politicians who are supposed to work on behalf of the less privileged, it’s a whole different story. A slight exhibition of wealth can put them into trouble because it becomes a good aspect for opposing politicians to condemn.
One simple example is that Lee Kun-hee, LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo and Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn are chauffeured in ultimate luxury Maybach sedans while politicians, no matter how rich they are, drive Hyundai Equus or a SsangYong Chairman W. Driving an imported car is a taboo for a politician.
Controversies over luxury goods worn by politicians or public servants are well-documented.
When Kim Tae-ho, a former governor of South Gyeongsang Province, was nominated to be prime minister and attended confirmation hearings in the summer of 2010, he was criticized because his wife carried a Louis Vuitton bag.
A lawmaker from the opposition Democratic Party produced a photo of Kim and his wife voting at the local election, and the nominee admitted that the bag his wife was carrying was from Louis Vuitton and that he had given it to her as a wedding anniversary gift.
President Lee Myung-bak also became the subject of controversy when his granddaughter was seen in a white Moncler down jacket. The French luxury brand’s down jacket costs at least a couple of million won.
The public’s anger against the president intensified because he was on a publicity trip to a local bazaar to promote traditional markets when the granddaughter was spotted wearing the garment.
Furthermore, Moon Jae-in, the presidential candidate from the Democratic United Party, faced criticism during the election campaign when the chair he was sitting on in a TV advertisement was claimed to cost over 7 million won. Some speculated that he was sitting on the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, and his wife had to explain that they were bought second-hand for just 500,000 won.
Obviously, not all politicians are treated the same. When former actress Shim Eun-ha appeared at the voting station in June 2010 with her politician husband Ji Sang-wook, a former spokesperson for Liberty Forward Party, she was clad in luxury clothing from head to toe ― a Hermes Birkin bag, a coat from Piazza Sempione and a pair of Chanel shoes, according to the media. The media admired her beauty and “the Cheongdam-dong daughter-in-law look,” a term for luxurious fashion items worn by women married to rich men in southern Seoul.
Jung, the image consultant, said that the media frenzy over President-elect Park’s bag wasn’t fair. The working class may regard the bag as too expensive, but the president is after all “the CEO of a country,” Jung said.
“Will she have to drive a Tico (a small vehicle by Daewoo)? She represents the country, and should be allowed to wear decent clothes. I think she can carry a bag that costs 5 to 10 million won,” Jung said.