Two Liberian Officials Arrested in Busan for Sexual Assault of Two Middle School Girls... "Not Diplomatic Immunity, Risk of Flight and Evidence Tampering"

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Two Liberian government officials from Africa have been arrested in Busan on charges of sexually assaulting Korean middle school girls.

The Busan District Court conducted a warrant review for the two Liberian officials, who were subject to arrest warrants on such charges during their business trip to Korea, and issued the arrest warrants around 6:50 p.m. that day.

These foreigners claimed "diplomatic immunity" and refused to be investigated by the Korean police, but the court ruled that the immunity did not apply and decided on detention due to concerns of flight risk and evidence tampering.

The Liberian diplomats and officials were urgently arrested on the spot on the 22nd in Busan on charges of sexually assaulting two middle school girls and had arrest warrants requested on the 24th.

According to the Busan Dongbu Police Station on the 25th, around 11 p.m. on the 22nd, Mr. A, a man in his 50s from Liberia, and Mr. B, in his 30s, were urgently arrested at a hotel in Dong-gu, Busan, on charges of sexually assaulting two middle school girls.

Mr. A and Mr. B reportedly lured the two middle school girls, whom they met by chance at a subway station in Busan, to the hotel where they were staying, gave them alcohol, and then sexually assaulted them.

The police responded to a report from an acquaintance of the victims, and when Mr. A and Mr. B held the hotel room door for about 10 minutes refusing to open it, the police used an emergency key to enter and apprehended them on the spot.

Mr. A is a senior Liberian government official, and Mr. B is a diplomat who came to Busan to participate in a training program hosted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

After the crime, both claimed diplomatic immunity and refused to give statements.

A police official said, "Since this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot disclose details, and in criminal cases, the principle of territoriality is applied."

Initially, the police applied for arrest warrants based on the judgment that they were not granted diplomatic status in Korea but were merely foreigners participating in an international event, and thus not subject to the Vienna Convention provisions on immunity.