"Who Do You Think You Are?" Abusive Former Ambassador... 2nd Trial Also Rules "Disciplinary Action Justified"

"Discipline Compliant or Even Lower Level Sanctions"

Seoul Central District Court / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] "Who do you think you are to say that to the ambassador's wife?"

In December 2016, Mr. A, a former ambassador of an Asian country, called Mr. B, the chief secretary, and urged him, saying, "Come to the residence immediately." He took issue with Mr. B telling his wife that "holding the year-end party on the weekend is a burden for the staff." The reason was arrogance. Mr. B, who was outside on the weekend, was summoned to the residence by this one phone call and reportedly received severe reprimand from Mr. A.

Mr. A's abuse of power did not stop there. On weekends or holidays, he made the embassy driver operate his personal vehicle. The cost was claimed as overtime pay. The allowance received by falsifying overtime and holiday work amounted to $1,005 (approximately 1.2 million KRW) over one year. Mr. A also neglected his wife's abuse of power, who frequently ordered the residence chef to do personal tasks such as hair styling, and instead conveyed his wife's complaints, causing dissatisfaction among the embassy staff.

Mr. A, who was disciplined with salary reduction and other penalties for such actions, filed a lawsuit in objection but recently lost again in the appellate court. The Seoul High Court Administrative Division 10 (Chief Judge Wonhyung Lee) announced on the 7th that it upheld the first trial's ruling, dismissing Mr. A's appeal against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the cancellation of salary reduction and suspension penalties.

The court stated, "The plaintiff abused his position and authority as the head of the embassy to engage in so-called abuse of power towards embassy staff and used embassy assets for personal purposes," adding, "Considering the circumstances and details, the degree of misconduct is serious and the blameworthiness is quite high." It further ruled, "Considering various factors, the disciplinary action in this case corresponds to a level of discipline that is appropriate or even lower than the disciplinary standards," and "The public interest in establishing public service discipline and restoring public trust in foreign service officers through disciplinary action is by no means insignificant compared to the disadvantages the plaintiff will suffer."

Previously, Mr. A served as the Korean ambassador to Country B from October 2015 to April 2018. During this period, Mr. A's various abuses of power towards residence staff were revealed through media reports, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs convened the Central Disciplinary Committee and decided on a three-month salary reduction. After the disciplinary decision, Mr. A caused controversy by posting a photo of President Moon Jae-in on his social network service (SNS) and leaving abusive comments. Mr. A later explained that his account had been hacked, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also imposed a three-month suspension penalty for the abusive comments in the same year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.