Despite the passage of more than six months, the allegations of sexual harassment against Vietnamese General Hoàng Xuân Chiến remain completely unaddressed by both Hà Nội and Seoul.
Latest Developments: On April 22, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung conducted a state visit to Việt Nam, holding extensive talks with senior Vietnamese leaders. The official agenda heavily prioritized cooperation across the energy, economic, defense, and security sectors.
However, it remains unknown whether the leaders privately discussed the lingering allegations that Hoàng Xuân Chiến sexually harassed a South Korean female civil servant during a working trip to Seoul in September 2025.
The Backstory: The scandal originally broke internationally on Oct. 21, when major South Korean news outlets—including the Yonhap News Agency, the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), and The Korea Times—reported that Hoàng Xuân Chiến was accused of inappropriately touching a female civil servant on Sept. 11 in Seoul.
By Sept. 19, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense formally summoned the Vietnamese defense attaché in Seoul to deliver a protest note, demanding that Việt Nam take measures to prevent any recurrence.
According to AFP South Korea, the Vietnamese defense attaché expressed regret over the incident and provided assurances to the South Korean government that such behavior would not happen again.
The Timeline: Despite the international reprimand, neither Hoàng Xuân Chiến nor any official agency of the Communist Party, the Vietnamese government, or state media has ever issued a public response or comment regarding the allegations.
Instead of facing public accountability, Hoàng Xuân Chiến simply continued to perform his public duties for months. This continued until a formal decision by the Prime Minister took effect on March 1, 2026, quietly relieving the general of his position and initiating his official retirement.
Thạch Hãn wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on April 23, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights of the English translation.
