Chung Eui-yong (; born 14 April 1946) is a South Korean diplomat and a politician served as
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
from 2021 to 2022. Chung was previously President
Moon Jae-in
Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...
's first
Director of National Security from 2017 to 2020.
Career
![Chung Eui-yong and Kim Jong-un](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Chung_Eui-yong_and_Kim_Jong-un.jpg)
A 1968 graduate of
Seoul National University, Chung joined the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1971. He subsequently served as Korean Ambassador to Israel (1997–1998), Deputy Minister for Trade (1998–2001), and as Korean Ambassador to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the UN Secretariat and International Organizations in Geneva (2001–2004). He was returned to the 17th
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
in the
2004 elections as a proportional representative for the
Uri Party
The Yeollin Uri Party (), generally abbreviated to Uri Party (), was the ruling political party in South Korea from 2003–2007. It had a liberal political ideology in order to support then President Roh Moo-hyun. Chung Sye Kyun was the last le ...
. In the National Assembly, he was a member of the Special Committee on
United States–Korea Free Trade Agreement
The United States–Korea Free Trade Agreement (officially: Free Trade Agreement Between the United States of America and the Republic of Korea), also known as KORUS FTA, is a trade agreement between the United States and South Korea. Negotiatio ...
. He then became Secretary-General of the
International Conference of Asian Political Parties
The International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) is a forum of political parties of Asia-Oceanian countries, which was launched in Manila, Philippines in September 2000. The objectives of the conference are to promote exchanges an ...
. On 20 May 2017, newly-inaugurated president
Moon Jae-in
Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...
appointed him as the ministerial-level Director of the National Security Office. In July 2020, Chung was replaced by
Suh Hoon and reshuffled to President Moon's
Special Advisor on Foreign Affairs, Diplomacy and National Security. In January 2021, he replaced Kang Kyung-hwa as the new South Korean Foreign Minister.
Political activity
In March 2018, as South Korea's Special Envoy to North Korea, Chung Eui-yong visited
Pyongyang
Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...
to discuss the required steps to denuclearise North Korea. He then flew to the United States for a meeting with President Donald Trump and to announce the
Trump-Kim summit.
On November 4, 2019, at a waiting room on the sidelines of
the ASEAN Plus 3 (Japan, China, and South Korea) summit held near
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
, when Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe
Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍 晋三, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 20 ...
talked with South Korean President
Moon Jae-in
Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...
for 11 minute, Chung Eui-yong took photos, and they were published without the approval of the Japanese side.
Chung had been in charge of bilateral intelligence-sharing agreement, the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), with Japan.
See also
*
2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit
The 2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit, commonly known as the Singapore Summit, was a summit meeting between North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, held at the Capella Hotel, Sentosa, Singapore, ...
*
April 2018 inter-Korean summit
The April 2018 Inter-Korean summit took place on 27 April 2018 on the South Korean side of the Joint Security Area, between Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea, and Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea and Supreme Leader of ...
*
2017–18 North Korea crisis
*
List of current foreign ministers
This is a list of current foreign ministers of the 193 United Nations member states as well as the Holy See ( Vatican City) and the State of Palestine.
Foreign ministers of sovereign countries with limited recognition, some alternative gover ...
*
List of foreign ministers in 2021
References
, -
1946 births
Living people
Seoul National University alumni
Harvard Kennedy School alumni
Ambassadors of South Korea to Israel
Members of the National Assembly (South Korea)
Uri Party politicians
Experts on North Korea
South Korean diplomats
Government ministers of South Korea
Minjoo Party of Korea politicians
Foreign ministers of South Korea
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