South Korea's foreign ministry has ordered a diplomat stationed in Vietnam for more than a decade to return home, a year after a controversial interview in which he made allegations about the murky appointments of his two superior officials, an informed source said Monday.
Kim Jae-cheon, a South Korean consul in Ho Chi Minh City, claimed in the interview held in November last year with a local cable news channel that Choi Soon-sil, a longtime confidante to former President Park Geun-hye, played a role in appointing the top envoy in Vietnam and a consul general in Ho Chi Minh City.
"Kim was notified of the order to return home, and the official order will be made sooner or later," the source told Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity. "The decision was said to have been made against Kim's wishes."
Kim has allegedly been ostracized by other staff there after giving the interview.
In the rare on-camera appearance, Kim alleged that Choi, who was at the center of a corruption scandal that led to the ousting of Park, recommended Jun Dae-joo as the South Korean ambassador to Vietnam in 2013. He also said she might have been involved in appointing Park Noh-wan in 2015 as consul general in Ho Chi Minh City.
Jun left office in April 2016. Park Noh-wan worked with Jun at the Vietnamese Embassy before he was named consul general.
Jun's appointment, in particular, raised eyebrows, since he had no background in diplomacy or public office. The foreign ministry explained at that time that he was chosen to bring in fresh blood.