According to data submitted by the Foreign Ministry to Chung, the Korean Embassy in France has paid an annual salary of US$99,953 (about W120 million) to a chauffeur for the ambassador, and $109,746 to an embassy compound manager.

The Korean Permanent Mission to the OECD has pays a librarian $83,417 a year, a typist $78,212, and a driver $77,497. The Korean Embassy in Brazil paid $6,982 to a maid for the embassy minister, more than the salary for a legal counsel ($6,500) and an accountant ($4,290). At the Korean Embassy in Germany, local specialists in economic and political affairs earned $50,414 and $56,480 respectively, but a local employee dealing with general affairs received $64,168.

Although only four diplomats work in the embassy in Ethiopia, it has 22 local employees, including four gardeners and three drivers. In Nepal, the embassy also has four diplomats but 21 local employees, including three drivers, three assistant cooks, three gardeners and a waiter. "As a result of this excessive employment of local staff, there are 830 diplomats at overseas missions but 1,900 local employees, more than double the number of the Korean diplomats,” Chung said.

A Foreign Ministry official defended the structure. "In case of the embassy in Paris, the chauffeur and the embassy compound manager actually earn about $48,000 each” but the embassy has to pay about 60 percent of their basic salary in welfare contributions under the French system. This is also the case with the permanent mission to the OECD." "In case of Brazil and Germany, local specialists are working on a part-time basis, therefore earning less than the maid or the employee in charge of general affairs, he added.

(englishnews@chosun.com )