It was belatedly revealed that the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense Vice Minister who visited Korea last month sexually harassed an official at our Ministry of National Defense.

According to the military on Jan. 20, Hoang Xuan Chien, Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense Vice Minister, who visited Korea for the Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD), made inappropriate physical contact and remarks to a female official of our Ministry of National Defense at a dinner on Dec. 11 attended by senior military officials from Korea and Vietnam.

Vice Minister Lee Doo-hee is shaking hands and posing for a commemorative photo with Vietnamese Vice Minister of Defense Hoang Xuan Chien at the Ministry of National Defense on the 11th. /Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense

Judging the matter to be grave, the Ministry of National Defense held an internal countermeasure meeting and, eight days after the incident, summoned the Vietnamese defense attaché in Korea to lodge a protest.

The Ministry of National Defense condemned the Vice Minister's behavior to the Vietnamese side and requested measures to prevent a recurrence, and the Vietnamese side was said to have expressed its intention to prevent a recurrence.

A Ministry of National Defense official said, "The Ministry of National Defense took appropriate measures as needed in accordance with principles regarding this matter," adding, "Disclosure of detailed facts is limited in consideration of the victim's wishes."

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