According to The Diplomat, a Korean diplomat in New Zealand is under investigation for sexual harassment that allegedly happened in 2017. A local male administrative employee filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency last year, leading to the investigation. The report predicts careful handling of the case due to its potential diplomatic repercussions.
The case became a diplomatic issue when an arrest warrant was issued for the diplomat in 2020. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern mentioned it to President Moon Jae-in during a phone call, but the New Zealand police announced that they would not request extradition. The diplomat left New Zealand before an investigation began and received a one-month pay cut from the Foreign Ministry after an audit uncovered the matter. The diplomat admits to contact with the employee’s body but maintains it was a harmless joke.
The Diplomat, a diplomatic news magazine, reported that the Korean police are currently investigating a case of sexual harassment by a Korean diplomat in New Zealand in 2017.
The media reported that the victim, a local male administrative employee, filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency last year, and the diplomat is under investigation.
At the same time, he predicted that Korea would want to handle it very carefully considering the diplomatic repercussions.
Incident-related article screen [더 디플로맷 사이트 캡처]
This case became a diplomatic issue between the two countries when an arrest warrant was issued for the diplomat in 2020.
In a phone call between the two leaders at the time, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern directly mentioned it to President Moon Jae-in, but after about five months, the New Zealand police announced that they had decided not to request the extradition of a Korean diplomat, and the matter sank below the surface.
The diplomat accused of sexual misconduct left New Zealand at the end of his term before an investigation by New Zealand law enforcement authorities began, and a Foreign Ministry audit later uncovered the matter and received a one-month pay cut in February 2019.
It is known that the diplomat admitted to contacting the male employee’s body, but insisted that it was only a joke and that he did not commit any wrongdoing.
In conclusion, the sexual harassment case involving a Korean diplomat in New Zealand in 2017 is still under investigation. Despite the diplomatic tensions that arose when an arrest warrant was issued, the matter seemed to have been put to rest after the New Zealand police decided not to request extradition. However, with the victim filing a complaint and the diplomat under investigation, it remains to be seen how this case will be resolved. It is important that all allegations of sexual harassment are taken seriously and investigated thoroughly, regardless of the perpetrator’s position or nationality. We can only hope that justice will be served and that measures will be taken to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.