Ex-diplomat`s wife faces charge of smuggling elephant tusks

The wife of a recently fired Korean ambassador faces the charge of smuggling elephant tusks into the country.

The tusks were found in her luggage after the couple returned to Korea on April 29, with the ivory estimated to be worth around 32 million won (28,600 U.S. dollars). The ambassador had served in the Ivory Coast.

Considering the severity of the offense and the social responsibility of public servants, prosecutors decided to indict the ambassador`s wife for violating customs law.

According to the prosecutors and the National Tax Service, 16 tusks (60 kilograms) were found in the luggage of the woman upon the couple`s return to Seoul in April.

Authorities then requested an appraisal of the ivory`s value to a couple of institutions, and based on consumption tax law, the ivory was estimated to be worth 28,600 dollars. In a preliminary probe by prosecutors, the ambassador`s wife said she told workers sent by the wife of a high-ranking Ivory Coast official to pack the ivory in her baggage.

When the incident was made public, however, she denied wrongdoing, saying she did not know the ivory she received as a present was packed in the luggage.

A prosecution source said Wednesday, "We sent the case to court to ask high-ranking civil workers to take social responsibility.”

The woman will stand trial without detention, with the date of the first trial not yet set. Those convicted of illegal importation face up to five years in prison or a fine of either 10 times the customs amount or the price of the goods.

The ambassador claimed he was unaware of the ivory in his wife`s luggage. Prosecutors also dismissed charges against him, saying they have no relevant suspicion.

The ambassador, however, can be punished for violating the code of conduct for government officials serving abroad, depending on the judicial action taken against his wife.

shcho@donga.com