In this photo taken in February 2023, first lady Kim Keon Hee visits an exhibition presenting the Oegyujanggak Uigwe, a collection of records that explain how to prepare for and conduct royal ceremonies during the Joseon era. (Presidential office)

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday rejected the main opposition's proposal to pass a bill that mandates a special independent counsel investigation into stock manipulation allegations and anti-graft law violation suspicions surrounding his wife.

While apologizing for first lady Kim Keon Hee’s “unwise conduct” in accepting a luxury bag from a Korean American pastor in 2022, Yoon stressed that such in-depth probes should only be launched when the outcome of an official prosecutorial investigation is deemed “insufficient,” in a press conference marking the second anniversary of his presidency.

"I apologize for the concern caused to the people through the unwise conduct of my wife," Yoon said.

“I’ve asked (the opposition-led National Assembly) to reconsider the special investigation bill, but the opposition has been against the public opinion that such probe should only be carried out when there are suspicions that the prosecution and the police turn a blind eye (to the accused),” he added.

Yoon also pointed to a two-year investigation by prosecutors during the previous Moon Jae-in administration into the accusations that his wife was involved in the stock price manipulation of local BMW dealer Deutsch Motors nearly a decade ago, which failed to prove Kim’s direct involvement in the case.

“I have to ask if (the opposition’s proposal) means that the previous administration had turned a blind eye towards (me and my wife),” Yoon explained.

Earlier this month, the country’s top prosecutor launched a special task force dedicated to investigating accusations that Kim violated the country’s anti-graft law by receiving a 3 million won ($2,200) Christian Dior handbag.

In March, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea drafted and railroaded an updated version of a special investigation bill into the first lady, which looks into the anti-graft allegations on top of the stock manipulation accusations. The previous version of the bill, which only mandated a probe into the stock manipulation allegations, was vetoed by Yoon in January.

Meanwhile, civic group People's Welfare Countermeasure Committee's Secretary General Kim Soon-hwan appeared before prosecutors on Thursday for questioning as part of their probe into Kim. Kim filed a complaint against Choi Jae-young, the Korean American pastor who shot spy cam footage of Kim Keon Hee accepting the Dior bag that he purchased as a gift in September 2022. The civic group head has accused Choi of trespassing and obstruction of justice.