The South Korean police say they want to talk to the wife of the Belgian ambassador there, after an incident in which she allegedly hit a shopkeeper.
Images from a security camera came online from a clothing store this week.
It shows a woman beating up a shopkeeper who had tried to dissuade her from approaching another employee.
They suspected she was trying to leave the store with an item of clothing she hadn’t paid for.
Police sent to the scene identified her as Xiang Xueqiu, the wife of the Belgian ambassador, according to an officer at the local police station. Police say they have received a complaint about an alleged sexual assault.
But since then, the police have been unable to contact Xiang, saying she was in a hospital.
Reuters could not find out which hospital and could not immediately reach her for comment.
The Belgian Embassy in Seoul confirmed that Xiang had been hospitalized, but made no further comment.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry told Reuters it had urged the Belgian embassy to cooperate on the case and said it would take appropriate action based on the police investigation.