Kelley: ‘Honorary Consul’ of South Korea

Foreign Policy reports that a diplomatic source says that Kelley is an ‘honorary consul’ of the Republic of Korea (South Korea), a symbolic title that has no official responsibilities. Kelley assumed this position last August thanks to her good connections and network. The source also said Kelley played a role to improve the relationship between the ROK and the U.S., including getting support for [the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement]. She also arranged meetings between the ROK Ambassador to Washington and local businessmen when the ROK Ambassador visited the Tampa area.

There’s no implication that the South Korean government has anything to do with the growing scandal that involves Kelly, Allen, Petraeus, and Paula Broadwell, Petraeus’s biographer and alleged mistress. But her work on behalf of the South Koreans may explain some of the 20,000 to 30,000 pages of e-mails between her and Allen that the Defense Department’s Inspector General’s office is investigating now.

Kelley’s Mercedes has license plates that say “Honorary Consul,” and she invoked her honorary diplomatic status in a Nov. 11 911 call when she was complaining about trespassers on her private property. However, “honorary” diplomats have no specific privileges or protections under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.