Police Decide Not to Prosecute Soma, Former Japanese Consul General, for Insulting President Moon

Former Minister-Counselor Soma Hirohisa of the Embassy of Japan in Korea
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The police have conducted an investigation into Soma Hirohisa, the Minister-Counselor of the Embassy of Japan in Korea, who caused controversy by using sexual expressions targeting President Moon Jae-in, and ultimately decided not to prosecute.

According to the police on the 5th, the Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency recently decided not to prosecute in a case where a civic group filed a complaint against former Minister-Counselor Soma for insult and defamation.

It is reported that the reason for the non-prosecution decision was that former Minister-Counselor Soma holds diplomatic immunity as a diplomat. Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, diplomats from each country are granted immunity.

Minister-Counselor Soma caused a stir when it was reported that he said in an interview with a media outlet on July 15 that "President Moon is masturbating." Subsequently, Koichi Aiboshi, Ambassador of Japan to Korea, explained, "It is true that such expressions were used during the conversation, but this was never a statement directed at President Moon Jae-in," and added, "I heard that Minister-Counselor Soma told the reporter present that it was an inappropriate remark and retracted it."

The civic group Anti-Corruption Solidarity filed a complaint against former Minister-Counselor Soma for insult and defamation with the National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters (NIH) in July, and instead of sending the case to a local police station, the NIH assigned it to the Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit.

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