Gov't officials committing sexual violence overseas get lax punishments

New Zealand's news service Newshub Nation reports in July on a Korean diplomat accused of sexually assaulting a local staff member in the embassy in 2017. The disciplinary action against the diplomat was taken more than 15 months after the allegations were made, and it was a mere one-month pay cut. / Captured from Newshub Nation

By Park Han-sol

There has been a series of incidences of sexual harassment and assault committed by government officials dispatched to overseas diplomatic missions, according to data from the foreign affairs ministry, Wednesday.

Lawmakers expressed discontent with the disciplinary measures faced by those who commit such crimes, arguing that the punishments are too lenient and that the process is far too slow.

According to the data, there were 25 cases of sexual harassment or assault committed by foreign ministry officials from 2013 to the first half of this year, 20 of which took place at diplomatic missions abroad.

In more than one third of these cases, it took over a year for the ministry to take any disciplinary action and in three cases it took as long as 30 months for the ministry to punish the offenders.

As to the penalties, 11 officials received light punishments such as reprimands and pay cuts, while 10 were suspended from duty or demoted. Only four were dismissed.

In the case of a Korean diplomat's alleged sexual harassment of a local embassy staff member in New Zealand in 2017, a scandal that has recently heated up in both countries, it took over 15 months from the time the allegations were made for the diplomat to get a mere one-month pay cut as a form of punishment.

Crimes of a similar nature have also been committed by public officials not from the foreign affairs ministry but from other government agencies dispatched to overseas diplomatic missions.

In June, a National Intelligence Service (NIS) official dispatched to the Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles allegedly sexually harassed a female contract worker. The foreign ministry ordered his return to Korea in July after a police investigation began, and the case was sent to the prosecution, according to Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).

When a public servant working abroad commits a criminal offense, the foreign ministry is in charge of organizing their return to Korea, while the investigation and disciplinary action must be carried out by the agency to which the official belongs. However, since the official returned to the NIS, no particular measures have been taken aside from suspension from duty.

In late August, a Korean staff member at the Korean embassy in Nigeria allegedly sexually harassed a local cleaner, according to Rep. Lee Tae-kyu of the PPP.

Even though the cleaner notified an embassy official of the incident, the embassy failed to take disciplinary action and did not report it to the foreign ministry in Seoul. The case simply closed with the Korean staff member in question resigning the following month.

“These cases of sexual harassment largely occur in embassies with a small number of members, which become closed organizations far from the headquarters' surveillance, and resulting in delayed disciplinary action,” independent Rep. Kim Hong-gul said.