Kang Chang-il (; born 28 January 1952) is a South Korean politician who is member of the

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 repre ...

since 2004. Kang served as South Korea's ambassador to Japan from January 2021 to 2022.

Early life and career

Kang Chang-il was born on 28 January 1952 in

Bukjeju County Bukjeju County (''Bukjeju-gun''; "North Jeju County") was a county in Jeju Province, South Korea until July 1, 2006, when it was merged with Jeju City Jeju City ( ko, 제주시, Jeju-si; ) is the capital of the Jeju Province in South Korea and ...

(now

Jeju City Jeju City ( ko, 제주시, Jeju-si; ) is the capital of the Jeju Province in South Korea and the largest city on Jeju Island. The city is served by Jeju International Airport ( IATA code CJU). Located on an island off the Korean Peninsula, Jeju ...

Jeju Province Jeju Province, officially Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, is one of the nine provinces of South Korea. The province comprises Jeju Island (; ), formerly transliterated as Cheju or Cheju Do, the country's largest island. It was previously kno ...

. He graduated from

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...

. Kang lived in Japan while he received a PhD degree from the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

Political career

Kang was nominated by 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 2004 legislative election and was elected in

and

, Jeju Province. After that, he was elected successively in the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and 2016 elections. On 15 June 2017, he was elected president of the

Japan–Korea Parliamentarians' Union The is a politician membership which promotes exchange and friendship between Japan and South Korea. It is led by former prime minister Yoshiro Mori and is composed primarily of Diet members from Japan's Liberal Democratic Party. The Union is ...

. On 23 November 2020,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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 Kang Chang-il as the new ambassador to Japan. Press Secretary of Japanese MOFA, Tomoyuki Yoshida, revealed on 3 February 2021 that the South Korean side announcement of the appointment was without

agrément Agrément, in international affairs, is the agreement by a state to receive members of a diplomatic mission from a foreign country. In this procedure, the posting state formally requests consent, via a ''demande d'agréation'', from the receiving ...

, and promptly after the announcement, Chief of protocol Atsushi Kaifu had told to embassy of South Korea in Tokyo that it was extremely regrettable to have deviated

customary international law Customary international law is an aspect of international law involving the principle of custom. Along with general principles of law and treaties, custom is considered by the International Court of Justice, jurists, the United Nations, and its ...

. At the time of 3 February 2021, as Kang had not yet completed procedures to become an ambassador, including

Letter of credence A letter of credence (french: Lettre de créance) is a formal diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state. Commonly known as diplomatic credentials, the letter is addressed from one head of state to anot ...

, he was still called as "the next ambassador to Japan." An official of the South Korean presidential office said that the appointment of Kang reflects Moon's willingness to improve bilateral relations following Yoshihide Suga's appointment as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. Kang has pledged to make every effort to improve and normalize relations between South Korea and Japan, following deterioration in relations over issues of wartime labor and

comfort women Comfort women or comfort girls were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term "comfort women" is a translation of the Japanese '' ia ...

. He has relayed Moon's statement that the two governments should prepare solutions to the pending problems through dialogue and that they should cooperate where possible, including on the

Tokyo Olympic Games Tokyo Olympics may refer to: * 1940 Summer Olympics * 1964 Summer Olympics * 2020 Summer Olympics (held in 2021) See also

* Tokyo bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics * Tokyo Paralympics (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

References

External links

Official website of Kang Chang-il

Embassy of Korea
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kang, Chang-il 1952 births Living people People from Jeju City Politicians from Jeju Province South Korean Buddhists Members of the National Assembly (South Korea) Democratic Party of Korea politicians Seoul National University School of Law alumni University of Tokyo alumni Ambassadors of South Korea to Japan