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With scandals involving overseas diplomats coming to light, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said it will carry out an internal inspection and sternly punish those who committed unethical or illegal practices.
Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jae-seop told reporters Friday that those recently accused of corruption would be inspected, and if found guilty, punished, for their acts. ˇ°We are determined to use the current scandals as an opportunity to review the operations of the ministry in Korea and our diplomatic missions abroad, correct irregularities and set up a transparent audit and inspection system,ˇ± he said. ˇ°Under strict principles, those committing wrongdoings will be penalized for their actions.ˇ±
According to officials, the ministry recently obtained a tip that a Korean diplomat stationed in the United States, identified only by his initial J, damaged the dignity of diplomats by playing golf and drinking during working hours, and cared only about bout entertaining guests. The official is under investigation. ˇ°We are carefully moving to figure out the truth, because the information came in a note from an employee who had been passed over for promotion, and it was uncertain whether the note was written by the person himself,ˇ± an official said.
Meanwhile, the ministry said that six officials failed the qualification examination for the heads of overseas diplomatic missions, held on November 24, being unable to pass the language test. The examination was conducted on 31 candidates. Three of the candidates could not attend the examination, as they were posted overseas at the time of the test, but they were passed in recognition of their leadership, ethics and job performance abilities.
(Kwon Kyong-bok, kkb@chosun.com )
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