The foreign ministry said Wednesday it will thoroughly look into an assault case involving officials at the South Korean Embassy in China and will take stern measures.

The ministry confirmed that an internal probe has been launched after it received a complaint accusing two embassy officials of beating an administrative staff member working at the same diplomatic mission while drinking at a bar in Beijing last week.

"We will take stern measures in accordance with principles and regulations based on the result of the investigation," the ministry said. "We will make efforts to prevent the recurrence of similar cases by beefing up the service discipline," it said.

The affected staff member has been given time off from work for psychological stability and other reasons, the ministry added. (Yonhap)