SEOUL–South Korea said Friday it would discipline 10 diplomats at its Shanghai embassy who were embroiled in a sex-for-favors scandal that saw some of them conduct affairs with a married Chinese woman.
Some of the shamed officials met the 33-year-old in hotel rooms while others dined with her in return for visas or leaked confidential documents.
The woman acted as a fixer for Chinese seeking to obtain visas to work in South Korea, the prime minister’s office said.
“Those involved must be punished and thorough reform measures are required at overseas diplomatic offices,” the premier’s office said in a statement, noting that the disciplinary measures to be taken have not yet been finalised.
“Seriously slack discipline in diplomatic posts resulted in this incident,” it added.
The woman, a housewife who worked for herself and was not employed in any official capacity at the consulate, also reportedly arranged meetings between senior Chinese officials and visitors from Seoul.
“While trying to use her as a conduit for business, official documents were leaked and some consuls had affairs with her,” said the prime minister’s office.
Confidential information included the mobile phone numbers of leading members of South Korea’s ruling party and other high-profile figures, it said.
The announcement wrapped up a probe led by a 10-strong team of investigators who visited the Shanghai Consulate from March 13 to 19.
Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan has apologized to parliament for what he called “a scandalous affair at our consulate in Shanghai”.
Media reports say at least three Korean diplomats were suspected of having affairs with the woman.
The case came to light when the woman’s Korean husband wrote to the Seoul government in January to complain about the diplomats’ allegedly intimate relations with his wife.
In November 2008 she also reportedly used her influence to ensure that Beijing allowed 11 North Korean escapees who took refuge at the Shanghai consulate to leave for Seoul en masse.