S. Korea's amb. to Malaysia faces possible punishment for power abuse against staff

Published : May 7, 2019 - 20:50 Updated : May 7, 2019 - 20:50

South Korea's ambassador to Malaysia, Toh Kyung-hwan, could face disciplinary action for alleged abuse of power against his staff, a foreign ministry official said Tuesday.

The foreign ministry conducted an internal audit of the Malaysia embassy in January and found Amb. Toh had engaged in inappropriate behavior, including verbal harassment, toward his staff, according to the official.

Amb. Toh Kyung-hwan (Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Malaysia)

Toh has been referred to the disciplinary committee, which will determine the level of his punishment. The ambassador is likely to be brought home sooner or later, sources said.

He has served as the country's top envoy in the Southeast Asian country since February last year.

Earlier this month, the ministry called in Ambassador to Vietnam Kim Do-hyun for allegedly treating his embassy officials in an arrogant and authoritarian manner. (Yonhap)