Shanghai consulate spy probe
Source: Agencies |
March 10, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
South Korea is investigating several diplomats accused of trading government documents for sex with a Chinese woman while posted at the country's consulate in Shanghai, officials said yesterday.
The scandal was splashed across yesterday's South Korean newspapers after the Foreign Ministry and the prime minister's office said they were investigating at least four officials, including the former consul general.
The mass-circulation Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported that South Korean diplomats are believed to have given the woman a list of telephone numbers of top South Korean officials and politicians, including President Lee Myung-bak.
An official in the prime minister's office said it had not yet determined whether such information had been passed or even if any of the documents were confidential.
The JoongAng Ilbo newspaper cited a South Korean official as saying that the exposure of high-level information was slim since the consulate in Shanghai deals with few state secrets.
The newspaper's editorial page, however, sounded the alarm anyway.
"What has been revealed so far may be just the tip of the iceberg," the JoongAng Ilbo said in an editorial.
"The government should now take steps to investigate and correct the moral standards of our diplomats."
The officials are also accused of using their influence to help Chinese citizens - picked by the woman - get South Korean visas more quickly.
Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said the government also planned to launch an investigation into the entire Shanghai consulate.
"I'm apologizing for causing the people anxieties over an unsavory incident," Kim told lawmakers during a parliamentary committee meeting yesterday.
The scandal is a new headache for Lee's government, whose single five-year term ends in early 2013.
Earlier this week, a parliamentary committee decided to delay debating a free trade agreement between South Korea and the European Union after errors in the accord were found.
And police last month began an investigation into a break-in at the hotel room of a visiting Indonesian official amid speculation South Korean spies had tried to steal documents about a possible arms deal.
The scandal was splashed across yesterday's South Korean newspapers after the Foreign Ministry and the prime minister's office said they were investigating at least four officials, including the former consul general.
The mass-circulation Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported that South Korean diplomats are believed to have given the woman a list of telephone numbers of top South Korean officials and politicians, including President Lee Myung-bak.
An official in the prime minister's office said it had not yet determined whether such information had been passed or even if any of the documents were confidential.
The JoongAng Ilbo newspaper cited a South Korean official as saying that the exposure of high-level information was slim since the consulate in Shanghai deals with few state secrets.
The newspaper's editorial page, however, sounded the alarm anyway.
"What has been revealed so far may be just the tip of the iceberg," the JoongAng Ilbo said in an editorial.
"The government should now take steps to investigate and correct the moral standards of our diplomats."
The officials are also accused of using their influence to help Chinese citizens - picked by the woman - get South Korean visas more quickly.
Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said the government also planned to launch an investigation into the entire Shanghai consulate.
"I'm apologizing for causing the people anxieties over an unsavory incident," Kim told lawmakers during a parliamentary committee meeting yesterday.
The scandal is a new headache for Lee's government, whose single five-year term ends in early 2013.
Earlier this week, a parliamentary committee decided to delay debating a free trade agreement between South Korea and the European Union after errors in the accord were found.
And police last month began an investigation into a break-in at the hotel room of a visiting Indonesian official amid speculation South Korean spies had tried to steal documents about a possible arms deal.
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