Belgium "Ambassador's Spouse Waives Immunity"... Ministry of Foreign Affairs Says "Only Agrees to Investigation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The wife of Peter Lescouhier, the Belgian ambassador to Korea, who assaulted a clothing store employee, has waived her diplomatic immunity, the embassy announced.

However, it is reported that the Belgian side conveyed to the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the waiver of immunity applies only partially and solely for the police investigation, so the ambassador's wife is not expected to face punishment in Korea. As a result of this incident, Ambassador Lescouhier will leave his post this summer.

On the 28th, the Embassy of Belgium in Korea stated in a Facebook post that the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has waived the ambassador's wife's immunity at the request of the Korean police and added, "Belgium will, of course, continue to cooperate with Korean authorities as necessary."

The embassy also confirmed that "the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs verified that the ambassador's wife personally met with two employees involved at the clothing store and directly apologized for her unacceptable behavior," and that "(the wife) appeared at the police station and sincerely cooperated with the police investigation as soon as her health condition improved."

However, the 'waiver of immunity' announced by the Belgian side is understood to mean cooperation with the police investigation only and does not imply compliance with judicial procedures such as trials.

Ambassador Lescouhier will leave Korea after three years in office due to this incident.

The embassy stated, "It has become clear that it is difficult for him to continue performing his role as ambassador smoothly under the current circumstances," and "Considering that Ms. Suechiu Xiang, the ambassador's wife, personally apologized and cooperated with the police investigation, Foreign Minister Sophie Wilm?s judged that ending Ambassador Lescouhier's term this summer would be most beneficial for bilateral relations."

It is also known that the ambassador's wife is likely to return to Belgium with the ambassador this summer.

The embassy noted that this year marks the 120th anniversary of Korea-Belgium diplomatic relations and said, "The Foreign Minister and the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sincerely hope this will be a valuable opportunity to reexamine the long-standing friendship between the two countries and the strong political and economic ties that are the historical result."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, on April 9, the ambassador's wife was booked and investigated by the police on charges of hitting the back of an employee's head and slapping another employee who tried to intervene at a clothing store in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

After the incident, the ambassador's wife was hospitalized and discharged on April 23, and the police inquired with the embassy about whether she would waive her diplomatic immunity.

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