The sexual assault scandal involving dismissed presidential spokesperson Yoon Chang-jung escalated Tuesday as new reports and witness statements emerged linking him to an attempted rape and indicating Seoul officials may have tried to dissuade the victim from filing complaints.

Reports said that a naked Yoon “grabbed” the buttocks of a female intern in his hotel room in Washington, after sexually harassing her at a basement hotel bar ― an allegation Yoon denied Saturday.

Temporarily hired by the U.S.-based Korean cultural service, the 21-year-old Korean-American was helping Yoon while he was accompanying President Park Geun-hye during her first visit to the U.S. as head of state last week. 

During a press conference, Yoon, 56, claimed he “patted her waist to encourage her” and did not sexually assault her inside his hotel room. He stressed cultural misunderstandings” have prompted the scandal.

Should Yoon’s charge be of repeated sexual assaults or attempted rape, the U.S. investigative authorities could call for his extradition under a bilateral pact, which could escalate into a diplomatic issue, legal observers said. But in case of a misdemeanor, the authorities may not ask for his extradition.

Lee Sang-don, law professor at Chung-Ang University and former member of the ruling Saenuri Party’s now-defunct emergency panel, raised the possibility that the Seoul government could take some responsibility for the case.

“Yoon was a high-level Seoul government official at the time. In accordance with the U.S. legal procedures, the possibility can be raised that the Seoul government would be held responsible (for the scandal),” he said in a radio interview.

“The U.S. has enacted the law under which compensation will be offered to a U.S. citizen against whom a foreign government official inflicted some damage. The victim can file a federal court suit against the Seoul government.”

As Cheong Wa Dae was struggling to contain the scandal with repeated apologies by the president, her chief of staff and press secretary, and a vow to establish discipline in officialdom, it has requested the U.S. authorities speed up the probe into the case.

Amid deteriorating public sentiment here, a fresh suspicion has emerged that Seoul officials might have sought to cover up what Cheong Wa Dae called the “shameful, unsavory” case.

According to reports, on the morning of May 8, the day after the incident occurred, there was a commotion as the intern threatened to file a report with the police while crying out loud and yelling at Seoul officials with the door of her hotel room locked.

This has spawned the suspicion that Seoul officials might have sought to persuade the intern not to make a big deal out of it.

While the intern was crying, there was another female government employee inside the room, who reported the case to the police. The employee has recently offered to resign.

A Seoul official said, “After consultation among government officials, (we) tried to talk to her and failed (to talk). While trying to talk to her, the case was reported to the U.S. police as I understand.”

Conflicting claims over the scandal have added to the public’s frustration.

Some argue that Yoon hurriedly took a taxi and fled to Seoul from Washington while some reports said the Korean cultural service provided transportation to him to move to the airport. Cheong Wa Dae claims it did not ask him to immediately leave Washington.

Washington police have launched an investigation after a sexual misdeed claim was filed against him Wednesday. A preliminary police report alleged the suspect “grabbed her buttocks without her permission” between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Tuesday.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)