SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean police said Thursday they’re pushing to investigate a U.S. diplomat to find if he intentionally fled after a traffic accident in Seoul.
The diplomat’s car rear-ended a taxi Wednesday in Seoul but kept moving without stopping, the Seoul Yongsan Police Station said, citing an analysis of footage recorded by the taxi’s camera.
The taxi chased the diplomat’s car until it stopped close to the gate of a nearby U.S. military base in Seoul. Officers tried to identify the diplomat, but he refused to comply with any inquiry, police said, requesting anonymity because of department rules.
His car later moved into the U.S. base, where the residences of some of the U.S. diplomats based in Seoul are located, the police officers said.
Police said the taxi driver and a passenger didn’t immediately report injuries. Police said they don’t know if anyone in the diplomat’s car was hurt.
On Thursday, police sent letters to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul and South Korea’s Foreign Ministry to ask for cooperation in their investigation and check if the diplomat would exercise immunity. The Foreign Ministry later told police that there were four U.S. diplomats in the car, including the driver, and they all belong to the embassy, according to police.