Ex-ambassador under probe for smuggling ivory

By Kang Hyun-kyung

A former ambassador to an African country is under investigation on suspicion of smuggling 16 elephant tusks.

The case is expected to deal a fresh blow to the image of the foreign ministry as it follows a sex scandal involving a Chinese woman and several Korean consuls in the Shanghai mission. Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan’s leadership will also be put to the test.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) said Monday that the Customs Service is now investigating a career diplomat identified only by the initial P.

After returning to Seoul in March after completing his three-year mission in an African country, the senior diplomat is now working at another ministry.

Customs Service officials, who were informed of the diplomat’s attempt to illegally import ivory, detected the banned items in his belongings when it arrived at the airport.

The diplomat returned to Seoul in March but his personal items arrived in the country last week. The tusks were not declared.

Under the current law the import and export of ivory is banned.

If customs officials confirm the former ambassador’s smuggling charge, law enforcement authorities will take over the case.

Experts say it will be unavoidable for the official to take responsibility for the grave legal consequences of his unethical act.

The diplomat denied his involvement in the smuggling attempt. In an interview, he said that he received some elephant tusks as a gift from a high-ranking official of the African country when he lived there.

But he said neither he nor his wife packed his family’s belongings when they left the nation. According to him, he was busy at work and his wife was sick as she suffering from malaria.

He went on to say that his housemaids packed the household’s goods, claiming that his family is innocent.

This is the first time a foreign ministry official is involved in a smuggling case.

Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said he was embarrassed on learning this and has ordered a thorough investigation.

The top diplomat will inevitably come under pressure as he recently called on foreign ministry officials to live up to their commitment of ethical government employees.

Kim assumed the top job last year after a nepotism row involving the daughter of his predecessor Yu Myung-hwan hit the foreign ministry.

Yu’s daughter was given a plum job in the foreign ministry last year thanks to family ties as her father was then the foreign minister.

On assuming the position, Kim vowed to put ethical practices and fair competition in place in the ministry. He faces a leadership test with the breaking of this news.

외교관, 코끼리 상아 밀반입 하다 적발

전직 아프리카 공관장이 임기를 마친 후 한국에 돌아오면서 포장한 이삿짐에 코끼리 상아 16개를 밀반입 하려다 적발된 사건이 발생했다.

전직 공관장인 A씨의 이삿짐에 코끼리 상아가 포함되어 있다는 제보를 받고 세관이 A씨의 이삿짐을 점검한 결과 이 같은 사실이 밝혀졌다. A씨는 이사품목에도 상하 반입을 알리지 않은 것으로 알려졌다.

현행법상 상아의 수입과 수출은 금지되어 있다.

작년 유명환 전 외교장관의 딸 특채파동을 겪고, 이후 발생한 상하이 영사관 영사들이 중국 현지여성과 부적절한 관계를 맺으며 문제가 된 상하이 스캔들에 이어 발생한 이번 전직 공관장의 상아 밀반출 사건은 외교부에 적잖은 부담을 주고 있다.