Jill Kelley, the socialite at the center of the sex scandal rocking the US security establishment, is a South Korean honorary consul who has reportedly tried to claim diplomatic protections.
Two officials at South Korea’s foreign ministry said Kelley, a 37-year-old Tampa woman who organized events for US military officers, was appointed as the honorary consul in August, according to Yonhap agency.
“Although she is not indicted or punished, if she is found to be problematic, she will be relieved from the post of honorary consul,” a ministry official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The official said Kelley was appointed to the post following a recommendation from the South Korean embassy in the United States.
Another ministry official said Kelley took the post because of “good connections and network and willingness to develop Korea-US relations, including the free trade agreement.”
An honorary consul has no official responsibilities, the official stressed.
It was a complaint by Kelly that she had received anonymous harassing emails that triggered the FBI inquiry which uncovered CIA director David Petraeus’ affair with his biographer, 40-year-old military reservist Paula Broadwell.
Emails Broadwell sent to Kelley suggest the biographer was jealous of the socialite’s rapport with generals at US Central Command in Florida
US media reported that Broadwell had criticized Kelley to top generals under the online pseudonym KelleyPatrol, including a mail to Allen in which she called Kelley a “seductress.”
While holding just an honorary post for South Korea, Kelley was not shy about putting her influence in the spotlight.
She has vanity license plates on her Mercedes reading “honorary consul.”
And in a call to police, she complained to Florida police that trespassers on her property were violating what she mistakenly believed was her diplomatic “inviolability”.
Honorary diplomats have no diplomatic immunity or special protection.
Additionally, such privileges are generally apply only when real diplomats are in the foreign country to which they are accredited. Kelley is not South Korean, nor is she abroad. She is a US citizen.
“The ‘Honorary Consul’ vanity plates on her Mercedes-Benz S500 don’t prevent her from getting tickets,” The Washington Post joked.
Woman in spy sex scandal is South Korea honorary consul
