Former CNN bureau chief Sohn Jie-ae up for vice foreign minister spot, say sources

Diplomacy

Published: 06 Dec. 2023, 15:05

Former CNN bureau chief Sohn Jie-ae up for vice foreign minister spot, say sources

Sohn Jie-ae, left, chairs a session at the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity 2023 in Jeju on June 2, as former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans, right, speaks. [NEWS1]

Former CNN Seoul bureau chief Sohn Jie-ae may be tapped as the next vice foreign minister of Korea, sources said.

She was being considered for the second vice foreign minister position along with Yun Kang-hyeon, ambassador of Korea to Iran, and Lee Seong-ho, ambassador of Korea to Italy, sources told the JoongAng Ilbo recently.

Since November last year, Sohn has been the ambassador for cultural cooperation of the Yoon Suk Yeol government.

Also president and CEO of Arirang TV and Radio, Sohn has decades of experience in journalism, including at CNN and the New York Times.

When the Foreign Ministry appointed Sohn as cultural ambassador last year, it said she would be able to provide policy advice in the field of cultural cooperation based on her “abundant professional knowledge and international experiences” and contribute to raising awareness at home and abroad of “Korea’s status as a culturally advanced country.”

If appointed, Sohn would be the second woman in a row to fill the position after Oh Young-ju, who was recently nominated as the minister of SMEs and Startups.

It wouldn’t be Sohn’s first time in government, having served as the spokesperson of the presidential committee on G20 during the Lee Myung-bak administration and as the presidential secretary for overseas public relations.

As the Cabinet reshuffle continues, sources said the next presidential secretary for unification affairs to fill in the shoes of Kim Soo-kyung, recently appointed as the presidential spokesperson, could be Lee In-bae, president of the National Institute for Unification Education.

Lee In-bae, president of the National Institute for Unification Education, speaks at a forum in Seoul on May 22. [NEWS1]

“The current administration’s trust in Lee In-bae is so strong that other candidates are not being considered during the selection process,” one source told the JoongAng Ilbo.

Lee hails from Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang, where he was born in 1966.

He studied international politics at Chung-Ang University and served as a senior researcher at the Korean National Diplomatic Academy through 2000 and as a research fellow at the Yeouido Institute through 2008.

He served on the presidential team on foreign policy and security during the Lee Myung-bak administration from 2008 to 2012 and, most recently, as the president of the National Institute for Unification Education.

BY CHUNG YEONG-GYO, ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]