"An Honor at Stake... Investigation Planned, So I Will Refrain from Commenting"
Local Chinese Media Also Report as 'President's Friend'
Ambassador Jeong Jae-ho, the South Korean ambassador to China, who is under investigation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following a report of abusive behavior toward staff, has stated that the related reports are "one-sided claims."
On the 28th, Ambassador Jeong released a statement titled "Position on Media Reports Regarding Abuse Allegations," saying, "The media reports are based solely on one party's claims," and added, "As the honor of the individuals involved is at stake, we request restraint from speculative reporting."
Regarding the facts, he only explained, "There is supposed to be an investigation into the facts, so I would like to refrain from making specific comments at this stage." He neither directly admitted nor denied the previously reported insulting remarks. When asked who the "individuals involved" mentioned in the statement referred to, the embassy responded, "Please take it literally."
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others, a staff officer working at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Beijing reported Ambassador Jeong to the Ministry earlier this month for abusive behavior. It is known that Ambassador Jeong made insulting remarks in his office during conversations or in public meetings with multiple people. The staff officer who reported the matter to the Ministry submitted a recording of Ambassador Jeong's remarks.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently verifying the facts based on the report. A ministry official stated, "We received a tip related to the Embassy in China and are verifying the facts," adding, "Our ministry takes strict action based on a fair investigation when misconduct such as abuse by staff occurs."
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ guidelines to eradicate abuse, using a superior position to engage in insulting behavior such as verbal abuse, violence, derogatory remarks about appearance or body, and unnecessary physical contact is defined as "abuse." The ministry operates an "Abuse Victim Reporting and Support Center" within the Inspection Officer’s Office, which investigates facts upon receiving abuse consultations or reports and refers cases for investigation if necessary. The dedicated staff who receive abuse reports must investigate and report the findings to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Ambassador Jeong is a high school classmate of President Yoon Seok-yeol from Seoul Chung-Ang High School and shares the connection of graduating from Seoul National University. Before his appointment as ambassador to China in August 2022, he served as a professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Seoul National University for 25 years. He also drew attention when he joined the Korea-US Policy Consultation Delegation while President Yoon was still president-elect.
Ambassador Jeong has frequently clashed with the media in Beijing over communication issues. At a meeting with the Beijing correspondent corps in September 2022, shortly after his appointment, some media outlets reported on his attitude and certain problematic remarks unrelated to diplomacy with China. Citing a breach of the promise of "anonymous reporting of briefings," he has refused to take questions from reporters at monthly briefings for the past one and a half years. All responses are provided only to questions submitted in advance via email, and regarding demands for normalization, the ambassador’s side maintains that discussions cannot proceed without measures to prevent repeated embargo breaches.
Meanwhile, local media such as China’s state-run Global Times (GT), Beijing Daily, and Pengpai News have reported on the abuse allegations against Ambassador Jeong, mentioning his high school classmate relationship with President Yoon Seok-yeol.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
