(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on Dec. 22)

Diplomats and law

A new legal guideline concerning foreign diplomats' violations of law here went
into effect yesterday.

The new guideline calls for the Foreign Ministry to notify concerned governments
through embassies and diplomatic offices when their diplomatic envoys posted in
Korea break local laws.
The police will report violations to both the prosecution and the Foreign
Ministry. The ministry, in turn, is required to submit a formal report of the
offense to the country represented by the diplomat. Depending on the gravity of
the violation, the Foreign Ministry could request that diplomatic immunity be
waived or ask that the diplomat be summoned.
Diplomats enjoy immunity under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Diplomatic immunity protects foreign diplomats from criminal prosecution and
civil lawsuits in the host country. However, the immunity clause is open to abuse
and has been abused to avoid penalties under local laws.
One glaring example of such abuse is the invocation of diplomatic immunity in
traffic violations. Nearly 90 percent of traffic fines imposed on foreign
diplomats in the last five years have not been paid. According to the National
Police Agency report submitted to the parliament in October, 847 speeding tickets
and fines totaling some 57.5 million won were slapped on diplomatic vehicles in
Korea. The report showed that 87.6 percent of fines - adding up to 50.4 million
won - have yet to be paid.
The number of parking tickets levied on vehicles with diplomatic licenses totaled
13,196, amounting to 528 million won in penalties. More than 93 percent of the
total fines have been unpaid, according to the National Police Agency report.
More serious are the drunk driving cases involving foreign diplomats here. In
December 2006, the driver of a vehicle registered to the Chinese embassy in Korea
refused a breathalyzer test and identification, holding off the police for more
than eight hours. That incident led to a guideline for the police and the Foreign
Ministry in dealing with foreign diplomats who refuse breathalyzer tests or are
tested to have illegal blood alcohol levels.
However, that guideline is seen to have been largely ineffective. A report
submitted to parliament showed that of the nine drunk driving cases involving
foreign diplomats, including five accidents while driving under the influence,
only one case resulted in the Foreign Ministry sending a formal letter to the
embassy or diplomatic office.
It is hoped that the new, more stringent guideline will deter diplomats from
breaking local laws. Driving under the influence of alcohol is illegal anywhere
in the world, period. Diplomats, as much as an ordinary citizen, should not drink
and drive, endangering their lives and those of others.
(END)