President Lee Myung-bak is being criticized for his grandchildren’s expensive outfits.

Online bulletins are abuzz over a set of photographs showing his granddaughter wearing a high-end winter jacket in a family outing during the Lunar New Year’s Day holiday.

The pictures, uploaded to show Lee’s caring, family-centered side, prompted an outcry over the luxurious clothes worn by his family, a stark contrast to his pledge to empathize with ordinary people’s economic hardship.

In the photos released by the presidential office Saturday, one of Lee’s granddaughters wore a white winter jacket when she and her grandparents visited a supermarket at Tongin Market in northern Seoul. The jacket is thought to be by down apparel specialist Moncler, often referred to as the “cream of the cream” of winter sportswear.

The price of Moncler jackets usually starts from 2 million won ($1,740), fashion insiders said. It was later revealed that children’s garments are mostly priced around 800,000 won.

Many netizens took the president to task over the pricy clothing.

“Lee has always stressed that he is compassionate toward the ordinary or low-income people. How can he understand the misery of underprivileged people when his grandchildren are entwined with luxury?” an Internet user commented.

“Lee always preferred luxury. His pledge to look after the less wealthy and less powerful is vain,” another online comment read.

However, some argued that grandchildren have rights to wear whatever they want as long as they can afford it.

“The granddaughter’s father is a doctor. Her parents can afford the jackets without any problem. It has nothing to do with Lee’s official policies,” said another Internet user.

The conservative Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported that a granddaughter of the liberal former President Roh Moo-hyun was once spotted wearing a British luxury brand, Burberry.

“There are claims that Burberry is more expensive than Moncler,” it wrote.

Still, the dispute has not subsided in that the photos were uploaded to promote the president’s passion to revive the local economy.

“Whether the jacket is 800,000 won or 2 million won, the dispute itself left a scar on low income earners’ hearts,” said Rep. Kim Yoo-jung, floor spokeswoman of the main opposition Democratic United Party.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)