 |
Regarding Mr. Soma, when he talked with a South Korean media reporter on the 15th of last month, he said that he was engaged in psychological warfare alone regarding President Moon Jae-in's diplomatic stance toward Japan. It is said that he used the expression "President Moon is masturbating."
At that time, it was being discussed whether President Moon will visit Japan for the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, and it is believed that Mr. Soma's remarks had a considerable influence on President Moon's visit to Japan.
When this inappropriate statement was reported, Choi Jung-gon, the first foreign minister of the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (equivalent to Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs), called on Ambassador Koichi Aiboshi to protest on the 17th of last month. After that, Mr. Soma received strict attention from Ambassador Aiboshi.
In addition, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on the 19th of last month, "It is a very inappropriate statement as a diplomat and it is regrettable."
The opposition in South Korea did not subside, and in response to the remarks, the Korean citizen group "People's Solidarity for Liquidation" accused Mr. Soma of insulting and defamation to the police. The Seoul National Police Agency has launched an investigation. Police will continue the investigation until Mr. Soma returns to Japan, but Yonhap News Agency and others report that "Mr. Soma has diplomatic immunity, so it is unlikely that he will respond to the investigation."
Diplomatic immunity is a privilege given to diplomats and their families and is stipulated in the Vienna Convention adopted in 1961. It is stipulated that diplomats and their families will not be arrested for violating the domestic law of the dispatched country for the purpose of protecting the independence of the nation and the performance of missions of diplomatic missions.
In April of this year, an incident involving diplomatic immunity occurred in South Korea. The wife of the Belgian ambassador to Korea slapped a clothing store employee in Seoul.
Due to diplomatic immunity, the case was expected to end soon, but in Belgium, the ambassador's wife was criticized, "If you are the ambassador's wife, you should act accordingly" and "Embarrassing as a Belgian." The ambassador told the South Korean government that his wife would respond to a police investigation.
The wife abandoned her diplomatic immunity, apologized to the two victims, and then appeared at police station for interrogation.
Meanwhile, Mr. Soma is expected to exercise diplomatic immunity and return to Japan soon without being investigated, and further opposition is expected in South Korea.
This remark was an unofficial remark at a meeting with a Korean reporter, and although it was corrected by the Korean reporter immediately after the remark, it was eventually reported to the Korean media. If he said, "President Moon is wrestling alone" it wouldn't have been a problem.
It is said that the disappearance of Minister Hirohisa Soma, who has a very high level of understanding of South Korea as a Japanese diplomat, will be a major loss to South Korea, Japan, and Japan-South Korea relations.
2021/08/05 20:40 KST
