The U.S. State Department has dismissed Daniel Choi, a Korean American diplomat, after finding that he concealed a romantic relationship with the daughter of a senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official, according to The Daily Signal on October 9.
Officials said Choi violated diplomatic disclosure requirements by intentionally hiding his relationship with a woman of Chinese citizenship while working as a diplomat.
The controversy began after conservative journalist James O’Keefe released a hidden-camera video on August 6, showing Choi at a restaurant discussing his relationship with Joi Zao (27), who entered the United States on a work visa in September 2023. In the video, Choi revealed that Zhao’s father worked for China’s Ministry of Education and admitted that he had not reported their relationship to the department.
“Joy’s father is a Communist Party education official. She could have been a spy, but I didn’t care — I didn’t follow government policy because of love,” Choi said in the footage.
Following the video’s release, the State Department launched an internal investigation into Choi’s failure to disclose the relationship and later terminated his employment. Tommy Pigott, the department’s deputy spokesperson, told The Daily Signal, “This dismissal aligns with President Trump’s executive order. We will continue enforcing a zero-tolerance policy toward any employee who poses a threat to national security.”
BY HYOUNGJAE KIM [kim.ian@koreadaily.com]
