 Volodymyr Belashov |
Staff Reporter
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Tuesday denied that its ambassador to Seoul caused a serious traffic accident while allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol in May.
This contradicts claims by Korea's Foreign Ministry officials.
The Ukrainian government argues that Seoul is trying to exaggerate the case in order to push for its effort to limit diplomats' immunity.
Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleksandr Horin told Interfax News Agency, "The situation in which reports of the accident are being published in December is evidence of South Korea's intention to draw public attention to such sorts of accidents in order to review the mechanism of diplomat responsibility for violating traffic rules."
The copy of the Interfax report was provided by the Ukrainian Embassy in Seoul, saying that it was its government's official position.
In reaction, an official at Korea's Foreign Ministry, who is familiar with the case, told The Korea Times, "Foreign diplomats here are responsible for abiding by Korean regulations in accordance with Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations," which stipulates terms of personal inviolability of consular officers.
The official added the ministry and other concerned government officers have carried out a campaign calling on foreign envoys here to follow domestic rules, particularly traffic regulations.
Citing multiple sources, The Korea Times reported Monday that Amb. Volodymyr Belashov crashed into two cars while allegedly driving intoxicated on May 12 in Seoul, injuring one of the two Korean drivers involved. The embassy didn't respond to a repeated request for comment.
According to police, the Ukrainian diplomat locked himself in his car for about one-and-a-half hours and refused to take a breathalyzer test, citing diplomatic immunity.
The Ukrainian deputy minister was quoted as saying, "Such questions are raised in order to mobilize the public in taking such decisions."
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry denied the fact that the ambassador was drunk at the time of the accidents.
"A minor road accident was raised to the level of a serious incident for unclear reasons," the news agency quoted the troubled ambassador to Seoul as saying. "I can explain this by the so-called fight of the Korean side against an alleged abuse of diplomat immunity and privileges by diplomats."
According to Jungbu Police Station in central Seoul, the 58-year-old envoy, crashed into a luxury sedan somewhere near the large shopping mall, Migliore, in Myeongdong, central Seoul, at 9:25 p.m., May 12. But he kept driving and then ran into another vehicle, a taxi, about five minutes later near Jangchung Gymnasium, injuring the taxi driver. The taxi driver had to be hospitalized for two weeks after the accident, said Kim Hyung-gon, a senior police officer familiar with the case.
Another senior diplomat of the Ukrainian Embassy in Seoul was caught for alleged drunk driving on the same night in Itaewon, police confirmed, but he also cited diplomatic immunity in refusing a breathalyzer test.
Based on the timing of the two cases, police speculated the two diplomats were on their way back from a party that night.
Kim said all documents related to the accidents had been forwarded to the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office's Foreign Affairs Division. The head of the division refused to confirm if a case is pending.
Ambassador Belashov spent nearly three decades representing the Ukraine at the U.N. and NATO before being posted to Korea in October last year.
pss@koreatimes.co.kr
