Lawyer unaware of any arrest warrant for Yoon Chang-jung

It remains unclear whether Yoon Chang-jung, a former South Korean presidential spokesman, will stand trial in the U.S. on charges of molesting an embassy intern, his attorney said Sunday.

Kim Suk-han, a lawyer and partner with law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Washington, D.C., dismissed a news report that U.S. law-enforcement authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Yoon.

President Park Geun-hye fired Yoon, 56, while visiting the U.S. in early May as he was accused of sexually abusing the intern in her 20s. Yoon, who was among the president's entourage, allegedly grabbed the intern's buttocks at a hotel bar near the White House, hours after Park held summit talks with U.S. President Barack Obama. He has denied the charges, however, claiming he just "touched" her waist.

"The (U.S.) law-enforcement authorities are aware that I am working as Yoon's lawyer," Kim said. "But I haven't received such a notice (that an arrest warrant has been issued).”    Kim said prosecutors usually notify attorneys of that kind of legal measure.

"It would be very disappointing if (they) did not inform me although an arrest warrant was released," he added.

South Korean embassy officials also said Washington D.C. police are still in consultations with local prosecutors on ways to deal with the case.

A South Korean newspaper reported earlier that an arrest warrant has been issued for Yoon.

Police said earlier they were tentatively treating the case as a misdemeanor, leaving open the possibility of it changing into a felony.

Under the criminal code of Washington D.C., a person can be convicted of misdemeanor sexual abuse if the person engages in either a sexual act or sexual contact with another person when the offender should have known that he or she did not have the other person's consent.

The offense carries a maximum fine of $1,000 and no more than 180 days in jail.

Yoon flew back to Seoul shortly after the incident, avoiding direct police investigation. Unconfirmed rumors have it that Yoon might also have attempted to rape the intern.

Many people are paying attention to whether he will be forcibly extradited to the U.S. for trial. (Yonhap News)