Chung Eui-yong

Chung Eui-yong (Korean: 정의용; Hanja: 鄭義溶; born 14 April 1946) is a South Korean diplomat and a politician currently serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs under President Moon Jae-in from February 2021 after serving as his first Director of National Security from 2017 to 2020.[1][2]

Chung Eui-yong
정의용
Chung in 2018
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Assuming office 9 February 2021
President	Moon Jae-in
Prime Minister	Chung Sye-kyun
Succeeding	Kang Kyung-wha
Special Advisor to the President on Foreign Affairs, Diplomacy and National Security
In office 3 July 2020 – 20 January 2021
President	Moon Jae-in
Succeeded by	Kim Hyun-jong
Director of the National Security Office
In office 20 May 2017 – 2 July 2020
President	Moon Jae-in
Preceded by	Kim Kwan-jin
Succeeded by	Suh Hoon
Personal details
Born	14 April 1946
Alma mater	Seoul National University Harvard University
Korean name
Hangul	정의용
Hanja	鄭義溶
Revised Romanization	Jeong Uiyong
McCune–Reischauer	Chŏng Ŭiyong

Career

Chung Eui-yong (left) and Kim Jong-un

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 the 2004 elections as a proportional representative for the Uri Party. In the National Assembly, he was a member of the Special Committee on United States–Korea Free Trade Agreement. He then became Secretary-General of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties. On 20 May 2017, newly-inaugurated president Moon Jae-in appointed him as the ministerial-level Director of the National Security Office.[3][4] In July 2020, Chung was replaced by Suh Hoon and reshuffled to President Moon's Special Advisor on Foreign Affairs, Diplomacy and National Security.[5]

Political activity

In March 2018, as South Korea's Special Envoy to North Korea, Chung Eui-yong visited Pyongyang to discuss the required steps to denuclearise North Korea.[6] He then flew to the United States for a meeting with President Donald Trump and to announce the Trump-Kim summit.[7]

External video
Chung Eui-Yong announcing that U.S. President Donald Trump had agreed to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, March 8, 2018, C-SPAN

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, when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe talked with South Korean President Moon Jae-in for 11 minute, Chung Eui-yong took photos, and they were published without the approval of the Japanese side.[8] Chung had been in charge of bilateral intelligence-sharing agreement, the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), with Japan.[9]

See also

• 2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit
• April 2018 inter-Korean summit
• 2017–18 North Korea crisis
• List of current foreign ministers
• List of foreign ministers in 2021

References

1. Song, Sang-ho (2021-02-08). "FM Kang leaves office after years of daunting diplomatic tasks". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
2. Ahn, Sung-mi (2021-02-08). "Moon appoints new foreign minister". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
3. Ha, Mathew (23 May 2017). "Impact Player: Chung Eui-yong". Center for Strategic and International Studies. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
4. "[프로필] 정의용, 외교관 출신의 靑국가안보실장...다자외교 통상전문가". The Chosun Ilbo. 21 May 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
5. "Moon names new spy chief, unification minister, national security advisor". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
6. http://english.donga.com/Home/3/all/26/1240505/1 | title= Seoul to send special delegation to Pyongyang next week
7. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/world/asia/transcript-south-korea-nuclear-trump.html title=Seeking ‘Peaceful Resolution’: Transcript of South Korean Adviser’s Remarks
8. Takao Harakawa (November 11, 2019). "Japanese Officials Irked by South Korea's 'Photo Ambush' of Prime Minister Abe at ASEAN Meeting". Japan Forward. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
9. "Top South Korean official accuses Japan of distorting facts in intel-pact negotiations". Kyodo News. November 24, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2021.