History
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was created in 1948 following the Government Organisation Law under theOrganisation
The minister is supported by two vice-ministers, vice-ministerial-level chancellor of Korea National Diplomatic Academy and Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs.List of ministers
Key diplomatic tasks
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs engages in a number of diplomatic tasks that primarily aim to build international relationships, promote peace and protect the Republic of Korea and Korean nationals. According to the ministry website, these tasks aim to fulfil the national vision of a ‘nation of the people, a just Republic of Korea’. They are summarised below as follows: * Peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue and the establishment of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula Diplomatically achieve complete denuclearisation and build a ‘permanent and solid peace regime on the Korean Peninsula’. * Promotion of national interest through public and participatory diplomacy Increase understanding and support of the Republic of Korea and its foreign policy through ‘strategic public diplomacy’ and encouraging public participation and communication. * Pursuing assertive cooperative diplomacy with neighbouring countries Proactively and assertively strengthen cooperation with China, Japan and Russia with the ‘alliance between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America playing a central role’. As a gateway to tackling the North Korean nuclear issue and Eurasian diplomatic relations, the strengthening of these relationships aims to create a foundation for permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. * Establishment of a Northeast Asia+ Community of Responsibility Establish the Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Platform and pursue its New Northern Policy and New Southern Policy with the aim of building a ‘peaceful and cooperative environment conducive to the long-term prosperity and survival of the Republic of Korea’. * Strengthening economic diplomacy and development cooperation to promote national interest Create an international economic environment, increase engagement with emerging market countries and actively respond to climate change. Cooperatively increase contributions to the international community enhance national interest. * Strengthening the protection of Korean nationals traveling abroad and expanding support of overseas Koreans Systemically protect and increase the benefits of Korean nationals residing abroad and ‘vitalize the Korean global network’ through strengthening their capacity.2021 P4G Seoul Summit
The South Korean MoFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) is involved in creating environmental policies and working with countries around the world to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). As such they are hosting the P4G Seoul Summit in late May 2021. The event will be done online due to the COVID-19 crisis, and will look into improving the current climate change situation. The summit will look into improving the global public-private cooperation. The foreign minister Chung Eui-yong is particularly involved in this initiative as this has a significant impact on the relationship between the ROK and other countries such as the US and Denmark. June 2015 saw South Korea publish its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), an initiative by which countries focus on improving their environmental goals. The country set the aim of lowering emissions by 37% by 2030. As well as this, South Korea has participated in many initiatives to lower their carbon footprint such as the COP21 in Paris, ratifying the document in December 2015. Korea has taken a ‘green growth’ approach to climate change but despite these efforts there was actually an increase in coal usage over the past decade. Predictions have shown that Korea is not likely to reach the set targets. The MoFA, however, has been in close contact with Denmark to work together on their Green Growth Alliance (2011) in an attempt to make the P4G Seoul Summit a success.See also
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