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| Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha / Korea Times file |
By Jung Min-ho
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha apologized Monday over the handling of sexual allegations against a senior Korean diplomat once stationed in New Zealand.
"We received the investigation results from Cheong Wa Dae that there were problems in the ministry's response," Kang said during a meeting. "The case has become a diplomatic burden for the government, causing concern to the public. I'm sorry."
The statement comes about a month after President Moon Jae-in promised to deal with the case promptly during a phone conversation with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
A local employee at Korea's Embassy in Wellington has accused the diplomat of groping his body parts against his will three times in 2017. The case came to attention after local media highlighted it.
Before Ardern's direct request, a spokeswoman at New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told The Korea Times that the New Zealand government was disappointed that the Korean government did not cooperate with earlier requests from New Zealand police.
Kang vowed to strengthen communication with New Zealand authorities to resolve the case and apply stricter standards for future sexual misconduct cases.
The diplomat, who later moved to a post in the Philippines, has returned to Korea at the ministry's order. He is expected to be questioned soon after a 14-day self-isolation amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is unclear whether the presidential office and the ministry will accept a New Zealand police request to send him back for an investigation there.
Speaking to Korean media, the diplomat admitted there had been physical contact, but he denied sexually harassing the employee.
