‘Inauguration during the Moon Jae-in administration’ Dismissal of the head of the foreign affairs office… “Because I am not a public relations agent for the government”

Hong Hyun-ik, head of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, was dismissed from office with five months remaining in his term. This is the first time that the head of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy has been dismissed since the opening of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy in 2012. Director Hong protested, saying, “It is because he did not become a public relations agent for the regime.” In a text message sent to reporters on the 10th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested the dismissal of Director Hong on the 9th, and the dismissal was decided on the 10th after going through related procedures.” The head of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, a vice-ministerial level, is a political official appointed by the president on the recommendation of the foreign minister. The dismissal procedure is also carried out with the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ recommendation for dismissal and the presidential approval. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said, “Prior to this request for dismissal, we completed the hearing process on the 22nd to listen to the opinions of the person concerned, Director Hong.” This was done through a comprehensive review,” he said. In an audit last December, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs found that some professors at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, including Director Hong, violated the Solicitation and Graft Act and omitted to report outside activities, and took institutional action. Director Hong has been excluded from work since the beginning of this year for reasons such as responsibility for institutional operation and negligence in management. Director Hong took office in August 2021, at the end of the Moon Jae-in administration. This is the first time that the head of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy has been dismissed. In a phone call with Director Hong, he claimed, “I was dismissed for giving a lecture that did not match the direction of the government.” He said, “(Last year’s training for the heads of diplomatic missions in autumn) gave a lecture, and some of the heads of diplomatic missions said that (the lecture) did not match the policy of the Yoon Seok-yeol government.” said. Director Hong also said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took issue with the fact that a lecturer who served as an administrator during the Moon Jae-in administration gave a lecture by the head of the diplomatic mission. He said, “There was a lecture by the head of the diplomatic mission requested by the Korea International Trade Association, but the lecture schedule was changed and the lecturer was also changed. Meanwhile, multiple diplomatic sources reported that Park Chul-hee, a professor at Seoul National University who worked at the Yoon Seok-yeol camp, was nominated as the successor to Director Hong. Professor Park took on the role of refining the framework of foreign policy by participating in the Diplomacy, Security, and Unification Subcommittee of the Camp Policy Advisory Group, which helped President Yoon prepare his election campaign promises. Criticism comes from diplomats that the resignation was forced to appoint camp personnel. A former high-ranking government official said, “I wonder if it was an unreasonable attempt to remove him from office as an excuse to appoint a successor.” Reporter Shin Hyeong-cheol newiron@hani.co.kr