President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee are scheduled to depart for France on June 19, 2023, according to a photograph by Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald. The Democratic Party of Korea criticized South Korea's anti-corruption watchdog for rejecting a petition against Yoon and Kim. Filed in December the previous year, the petition alleged that Kim had accepted bribes. Despite this, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced on Monday that it was closing the case against the first lady, citing the lack of legal provisions to hold the spouses of elected public officials accountable. Democratic Party Rep. Jeon Hyeon-heui, who previously led the Commission under former President Moon Jae-in, condemned the decision as a violation of the watchdog's mandate for political impartiality. She also claimed to be aware of internal conversations within the commission that attempted to silence dissenting views regarding the dismissal of the petition against Yoon and Kim. Jeon vowed to collaborate with the Democratic Party leadership to call for an Assembly-led investigation into why the watchdog failed to scrutinize a potentially serious corruption case involving the first lady. President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee are set to travel to France on June 19, 2023. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of Korea has criticized South Korea's anti-corruption watchdog for its rejection of a petition against Yoon and Kim. The petition, lodged in December 2022, accused Kim of accepting bribes. However, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, in an unexpected announcement on Monday, declared the closure of the case against the first lady due to the absence of legal provisions to hold the spouses of elected officials accountable. Democratic Party Rep. Jeon Hyeon-heui, a former head of the Commission under previous President Moon Jae-in, condemned this decision, alleging a breach of the watchdog's commitment to political neutrality. Jeon further discussed being privy to internal discussions within the commission that sought to stifle dissenting opinions regarding the dismissal of the petition against Yoon and Kim. She pledged to collaborate with the Democratic Party leadership to demand an Assembly-led investigation into why the watchdog did not thoroughly examine a potential corruption case involving the first lady.