Senior South Korean diplomat in Japan fired for harassing staff

South Korea's government disciplinary board has decided to sack a senior diplomat in Japan for harassing a staff member for months, the foreign ministry said Monday.

The decision was made on Thursday and reported to the foreign ministry earlier in the day, according to the ministry.

The head of a South Korean consulate general in Japan was earlier reported to have habitually used swear words when talking to her secretary. She was also accused of mistreating the secretary by throwing a pen or a tissue box at her.

(Yonhap)
The employee submitted some 20 hours of recorded conversations with her boss to the ministry's audit team.

In September, the ministry asked for a "heavy" punishment for the consul-general and referred the case to prosecutors for investigation.

This marked the latest in a series of irregularities and misconduct involving South Korean diplomats overseas. The country's ambassador in Ethiopia was sacked in September on allegations that he sexually harassed a female staff member. (Yonhap)