A senior Korean diplomat, who was hurt in a car accident in Ladysmith on Monday, is being transferred to a Pretoria hospital.

Minister Yong Chae Kim, who is based at the Korean Embassy in Pretoria, was injured in an accident on the N3. His wife, son and daughter were also injured in the crash.

It is alleged that their vehicle was travelling to Durban when the driver allegedly lost control and side-swiped a tree, injuring all 4 occupants.

Mr Kim sustained facial injuries, as well as other minor injuries. The injured were treated at the scene by Sharaj Ambulance Services and Netcare. They were then transported to La Verna Hospital in Ladysmith by Sharaj Ambulance Services.

A security detail, including embassy security officers, will be escorting an ambulance convoy back to Gauteng.

The title “minister” is not used by many embassies anymore, except for larges ones.

“Minister, Minister-Counsellor”:
Apart from its cabinet-officer connotation (ie “foreign minister”), a minister has traditionally been a chief of diplomatic mission who headed a legation rather than an embassy. As so few legations are left, the title is now borrowed more and more to designate the second-ranking officer of a large embassy. It has, therefore, come increasingly to mean the senior counsellor under the ambassador. To avoid confusion with the old connotation, the United States and a number of governments designate these senior deputy chiefs of mission by the hyphenated title “minister-counsellor”.