청 "Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Response to Sexual Harassment Case Problematic"… Kang Kyung-wha "Apologize to the Public, Take Swift Appropriate Measures"

Minister Kang: "Strict standards will be applied regardless of occurrence timing"... First official response after incident resurfaced
Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters staff confirmed with COVID-19... Minister Kang orders "thorough quarantine and uninterrupted diplomatic operations"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the afternoon of the 24th, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha hosted a video conference with department heads and instructed thorough quarantine measures and uninterrupted diplomatic work in response to a confirmed case of COVID-19 among Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters staff. She also announced that appropriate measures would be taken regarding the recently resurfaced sexual harassment case involving diplomat A and that communication with the New Zealand side would be strengthened.

Minister Kang highly praised the Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff for their steady handling of COVID-19 response and various diplomatic issues, including the protection of overseas nationals, emphasizing, "Diplomatic work is directly linked to safeguarding national interests and protecting citizens, making it an essential national function that cannot be set aside even for a moment. Therefore, I ask everyone to continue performing diplomatic duties without disruption while taking care of their health."

In particular, Minister Kang added, "All staff at headquarters and overseas missions should carry out their duties with a high level of vigilance and strictly adhere to quarantine guidelines."

She also made her first statement regarding the sexual harassment case involving diplomat A, who is accused of misconduct while serving at the Embassy in New Zealand. At the department heads meeting, Minister Kang said, "The sexual misconduct incident that occurred at the Embassy in New Zealand at the end of 2017 was raised during the recent Korea-New Zealand leaders' phone call, causing diplomatic burdens for our government and concern among the public, for which I am sorry."

Minister Kang further stated regarding the case, "We have received an investigation report from the Blue House indicating that there were problems in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' response process from the initial occurrence of the incident to the leaders' phone call," and emphasized, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will review this and promptly take appropriate measures." It is known that the Blue House has recently conducted direct inspections related to the case. Publicly mentioning the Blue House investigation results is unusual.

She continued, "Going forward, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will apply stricter standards to sexual misconduct cases regardless of when they occur," instructing the supplementation of related provisions and strengthening of internal education. She also mentioned that communication with the New Zealand side will be enhanced to ensure a fair resolution of this case.

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