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A shopping district in Seoul, South Korea. The Belgian ambassador has said he ‘sincerely regrets the incident involving his wife’.
A shopping district in Seoul, South Korea. The Belgian ambassador has said he ‘sincerely regrets the incident involving his wife’. Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
A shopping district in Seoul, South Korea. The Belgian ambassador has said he ‘sincerely regrets the incident involving his wife’. Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

Belgian envoy’s wife questioned over Seoul boutique assault claims

This article is more than 2 years old

Two boutique workers allege they were slapped and hit on head in row over shoplifting

Police have questioned the wife of Belgium’s ambassador to South Korea over accusations she hit two boutique staff in a row over shoplifting.

The ambassador, Peter Lescouhier, previously said he “sincerely regrets the incident involving his wife”, adding that he “wants to apologise on her behalf”.

“No matter the circumstances, the way she reacted is unacceptable,” he said.

The woman, named in media reports as Xiang Xueqiu, was questioned on Thursday, said a detective at Yongsan police station in central Seoul, without providing further details.

Reports say the envoy’s wife tried on clothing in the Seoul store before walking out, prompting an assistant to run after her to ask about an item she was wearing and triggering the confrontation.

CCTV footage showed her pulling at one employee’s arm and hitting her on the head, before slapping another worker who tried to intervene across the face.

The video – provided by the family of an alleged victim – was reported widely by local media and circulated online, turning public opinion sharply against the ambassador’s family.

The Belgian embassy issued the ambassador’s apology in a Facebook post as it sought to contain the damage, but its Korean translation sounded heavy-handed, prompting further criticism.

“You are apologising in that tone?” asked a poster on Naver, the country’s largest portal. “Do you really reflect your country’s stature?”

Ambassadors’ wives enjoy diplomatic immunity but the Belgian embassy said she would cooperate with police.

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