Prosecutors to Get Tougher on Foreign Diplomats` Crimes

Prosecutors Sunday said they will seek to deport foreign diplomats who are convicted of a crime in Korea.

The Supreme Public Prosecutors’ Office announced a guideline for criminal cases involving foreign diplomats jointly with the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry and the National Police Agency.

Under the guideline, police will inform prosecutors and the ministry of crimes committed by foreign diplomats immediately after crimes occur and hand over the investigations to prosecutors. The prosecutors’ office will inform the ministry of the results of countermeasures received from its district office.

The ministry will then inform the accused diplomat’s home government through Korea’s mission in that country, and request a summons or deportation depending on the severity of the crime. The ministry will report the results of the responses to the prosecutors’ office.

Exempt from the guideline are cases whose statute of limitation has expired, offenses subject to complaint with no right to indict due to the withdrawal of suit, cases where the suspect is a minor, and cases where acts cannot be construed as crimes, such as hiding of crimes by relatives and destruction of evidence.

No guideline governs notification for crimes committed by foreign diplomats in Korea. Hence, when a foreign diplomat commits a crime, police hand over the suspect to the embassy of the accused and ask for deportation or punishment.

dnsp@donga.com