`Female embassy staff cussed at NK defectors in Bangkok`

Female staff at the South Korean Embassy in Bangkok are alleged to have used abusive language toward North Korean defectors. Thailand is a Southeast Asian country through which defectors seek refuge before entering South Korea.

While investigating defectors detained in a facility run by Thai immigration for illegal entry into the Southeast Asian country, the staff are known to have talked down to the defectors and even swore at them, according to several defectors.

One 80-something escapee who was a high-ranking official in the North said he filed a petition with the South Korean ambassador in Bangkok in May last year. He said a female embassy staff member in her mid-20s told him, “Hey, dude, why are you here?” He said Tuesday, however, that his petition was ignored.

Another 50-something defector said, “Female staff at the embassy have always talked down to and sworn at North Korean defectors,” adding, “In May last year, a female worker shouted abuse at me in front of more than 100 other defectors detained in the same room for disobeying her instruction.”

Known to be a leader of the room, he said he helped older defectors who suffered from the heat stay in a relatively cool room reserved for patients.

zsh75@donga.com