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    The Wife of Belgium Ambassador to South Korea slaps a store assistant for accusing her of shoplifting then claims diplomatic immunity

    Xiang Xueqiu, the wife of Belgium’s ambassador to South Korea, Peter Lescouhier is exercising her diplomatic immunity to avoid charges after allegedly slapping a store assistant in April, police have revealed on Tuesday, May 18.

    The Wife of Belgium Ambassador to South Korea slaps a store assistant


    A security video widely shared online showed Xiang getting into an altercation with two clothing store staff on April 9, after one of the women asked the ambassador’s wife about a jacket she was wearing, believing she might have stolen it.

    The Wife of Belgium Ambassador to South Korea slaps a store assistant


    The employee, who wished to remain anonymous said she couldn’t understand Xiang and tried to look at the label inside the jacket.


    When she confronted Xiang on the street outside the store, she saw the jacket was not from the shop. She apologized in English and came back inside, but was pursued by Xiang.


    In the video, Xiang can be seen gesticulating angrily and shoving one of the clerks, before slapping her across the face.


    In a photo shared, the woman was left with a large red swelling on her face.

    The Wife of Belgium Ambassador to South Korea slaps a store assistant


    “We can understand her anger but that does not justify her violent behavior,” the employee said, adding that the woman who was slapped suffered ringing in her ear and “mental anguish.”


    “We’re not sure if we’ll be able to get a genuine apology through reporting this incident but this could happen to other employees in the service industry,” the employees said in a statement. 


    “In a hope to prevent any future recurrences, by someone who abuses one’s power, we’re providing this footage.”


    According to the Belgian Embassy, Xiang was hospitalized following the incident, but has since been discharged.


    Ambassador Peter Lescouhier previously apologized on behalf of his wife, saying she “might have had her reasons to be angry at the way she was treated in that shop, but committing physical violence is totally unacceptable.”


    “She sincerely regrets it and she wants to offer her apologies in person to the shopkeeper when she gets the opportunity to do so,” Lescouhier said, adding his wife was “cooperating actively with the police.”


    But the Seoul Metropolitan Police said today Tuesday that Xiang had exercised her diplomatic immunity, and therefore the prosecution was being dropped. Under the Vienna Convention, to which South Korea is a signatory, diplomats and their families are entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution, but this can be voluntarily waived.


    See the video of the attack below 

    By Francisca C.