New Zealand diplomat quizzed over bar incident
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By Lee Jin-a, Park Si-soo
Police questioned a New Zealand diplomat on Wednesday for allegedly obstructing officers who tried to arrest his friends on suspicion of molesting a female bar worker.
Yongsan Police Station in Seoul said two companions of the diplomat, whose identity remains unknown, allegedly molested a female employee at a bar in Itaewon Tuesday night and assaulted a security guard who tried to take them to police. As police tried to arrest the two, the diplomat allegedly pushed them and kicked the patrol car.
The diplomat and his friends were taken to the police station that night. But the diplomat was freed under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which gives foreign diplomats here immunity from civil or criminal prosecution.
The New Zealand Embassy in Seoul said it is aware of the diplomat’s alleged involvement in the incident but refused to give detailed information about him.
“We will actively cooperate with the police investigation about the case,” the embassy told The Korea Times. “If his problem is confirmed, we will make him pay the price by stripping off his diplomat privilege.”
A foreign ministry official said although foreign diplomats are usually exempt from criminal charges under the Vienna Convention, this does not apply to those involved in serious cases.