U.S. police said Tuesday it is too early to say which charges a former South Korean presidential spokesman might face.
"It's under investigation. I don't know which way the investigation is going," officer Paul Metcalf, spokesman for the Washington, D.C., police, told Yonhap News Agency by phone.
Police are investigating the allegation that Yoon Chang-jung molested a Korean-American woman during his trip here last week as a member of the entourage accompanying South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
Yoon was serving as a spokesman for Park's office, Cheong Wa Dae, at the time. Shortly after the woman contacted the police, Yoon quickly left the U.S. and returned to Seoul.
Based on an initial statement by the woman that Yoon "grabbed her buttocks" at a hotel bar, police have tentatively labeled the case as a misdemeanor sexual abuse allegation. A misdemeanor is less serious than a felony under U.S. law.
"We're investigating the report of a misdemeanor abuse," Metcalf said. "I don't know if there's going to be another charge."
There are new suspicions that Yoon also attempted to rape her.
Yoon publicly denied all the allegations, saying he just touched the waist of the woman, who was working as an intern at the South Korean Embassy in Washington.
Metcalf would not be drawn into a question about the possibility that the U.S. will seek to extradite Yoon.
"I'm not getting into that," he said. It's part of the investigation and I can't comment on it."
He also refused to predict when the probe will be completed.
"I'm not giving you a timeline because it's impossible to predict. That's something I am not getting into. It's under investigation," he added.
The Yoon case has grabbed South Korean media attention in the wake of Park's summit talks with President Barack Obama on May 7, which many agree were successful.
It has taken the toll on the Park administration's efforts to pull up the president's popularity less than three months after her inauguration. (Yonhap News)
