Chinese Temptress Causes Havoc in Shanghai Consulate

SEOUL, South Korea March 10, 2011 -- A Chinese temptress has triggered a sex scandal that is embarassing South Korea's president, caused two Korean officials to resign in disgrace, and reportedly prompted a fistfight between Korean diplomats in their Shanghai consulate.

At the heart of the scandal crowded with lovers and allegations is a Chinese woman named Deng Xinming who appears to have traded sexual favors with South Korea consulate officials in exchange for access to documents and expedited visas for Chinese people she selected.

Photographs of Deng, 33, have been splashed across South Korean newspapers and TV screens along with photos of the men, identified only as P, K and H. Her conquests also allegedly included former consul general Kim Jung Ki.

All of the involved Korean diplomats are under investigation as to whether they used influence to help expedite South Korean visas to eligible and ineligible Chinese citizens and whether they handed over confidential information to Deng.

South Korea's Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan publicly apologized on Wednesday "for causing the people anxieties over an unsavory incident."

The sex scandal is a huge blow to President Lee Myung-bak's administration, whose government has come under fire for allegedly trying to cover up the Shanghai scandal.

Diplomatic sources say Deng is married to a South Korean businessman identified only as Mr. Jin, but she is separated from her husband and living in a posh multi-million dollar neighborhood and is driving a BMW. She has enrolled her children at an international school where tuition costs $30,000 per year, according to Korean media reports.

She also is believed to have significant influence and connections to high-level officials in China. She told P that she is a relative of the late-Deng Xiaoping, China's revolutionary communist leader in the 1970s through the 1990s, according to the newspaper Chosunilbo.

Kim described Deng as an influential woman very close to Shanghai's Communist Party Committee Secretary and Shanghai's mayor, often arranging meetings for Korean government officials and politicians with high profile Chinese officials.