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Envoy vacancies leave Seoul rudderless in stormy seas

Published: 21 Oct. 2025, 07:00 Updated: 21 Oct. 2025, 08:39

Koreans who had been detained in Cambodia during a government crackdown on criminal compounds enter via Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on the morning of Oct. 18. [NEWS1]

More than four months into the Lee Jae Myung administration, a growing number of Korea’s embassies and consulates remain without appointed chiefs — leaving what experts call “commanderless outposts” on the front lines of international diplomacy.

As of Monday, 42 out of Korea’s 173 overseas missions — nearly one in four — are operating without a top envoy, according to data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Rep. Kim Gunn of the People Power Party. That includes 25 embassies without ambassadors and 17 consulates without consuls general.

The vacancies follow a directive issued at the end of June ordering the return of political appointees — including those in Washington, Tokyo, Moscow and the United Nations — within two weeks, without successors lined up. Since then, delays in the appointment process have left key posts unfilled, with some positions remaining vacant since the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

While deputy heads of mission typically serve as acting ambassadors, the lack of a full ambassador can significantly limit diplomatic influence — especially during emergencies involving Korean nationals, when direct access to senior local officials can make a critical difference.

The absence of a Korean ambassador in Cambodia when a Korean student died after being tortured in July is one such example. The fatal incident occurred shortly after Ambassador Park Jung-wook returned to Seoul, leaving the post empty.

The consulates in New York and Osaka — which oversee large Korean expatriate populations of 300,000 and 120,000, respectively — have also been vacant since July. Both were led by political appointees under the previous administration.

Korea’s consulate in Da Nang, Vietnam — dubbed by Koreans as “Gyeonggi’s Da Nang” due to the large number of Korean tourists — has been under temporary leadership since the mid-July departure of its consul general.

Other vacant posts include consulates in Sapporo and Fukuoka, both popular destinations in Japan for Korean travelers, and the ambassador post in Australia, a major destination for Korean students and working holiday participants.

A view of a criminal enclave near Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Oct. 16. [YONHAP]

According to Rep. Yoon Hu-duk of the Democratic Party, 17,283 Koreans were victims of incidents or accidents overseas in 2024, with the highest numbers recorded as 2,348 cases in Japan and 1,767 in Vietnam.

Korea also lacks an ambassador in Israel, where the conflict with Hamas continues. Earlier this month, a ship carrying Korean nationals was seized by Israeli authorities while heading toward Gaza.

Despite these urgent needs, the Lee administration has so far appointed only four new ambassadors — Kang Kyung-wha to the United States, Lee Hyuk to Japan, Roh Jae-heon to China and Cha Ji-hoon to the United Nations. Lee Seok-bae has been nominated to return as ambassador to Russia, but has yet to assume the post. Since his predecessor’s departure in July, Korea has had no top envoy to engage in key events such as military parades in Beijing and Pyongyang attended by North Korea, China and Russia.

In Cambodia, the Foreign Ministry launched a task force on Oct. 14 to address a surge in job scams and confinement cases affecting Korean nationals. Park Il, a former ambassador to Lebanon, was dispatched as head of the task force — not as a newly appointed ambassador, but as an acting envoy, raising criticism that the government only acted after public pressure mounted.

The ambassador vacuum has also created ripple effects at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Seoul. The director-general for Asean affairs — a key player in multilateral diplomacy with Southeast Asian nations — has been vacant for over two months since the departure of the previous official. The position is crucial for high-level discussions on transnational crimes and regional cooperation.

In the absence of a replacement, the director-general of North American affairs has been temporarily assigned to fill the role, an unusual dual burden. That same official is also responsible for preparations for U.S. President Donald Trump's possible state visit later this month for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.

Adding to the strain, the vice minister-level post for strategy and intelligence, in charge of North Korea-U.S. policy coordination, has been vacant for more than two months.

U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) agents restrain workers who were apprehended at a battery plant construction site on charges of violating U.S. immigration rules in Savannah, Georgia, on Sept. 4 in this video uploaded by ICE on Sept. 6. More than 300 Korean nationals were captured during the raid. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Rep. Kim, a former chief negotiator for Korean Peninsula peace talks, warned that “there is virtually no counterpart in Korea to engage with the United States on Korean Peninsula policy,” and called the current vacancies “a structural risk that paralyzes Korea’s diplomatic network, undermining even bilateral channels with major countries.”

The Foreign Ministry’s office for planning and coordination — which oversees ambassadorial appointments — is also headless. Former director Bae Jong-in was recently reassigned as deputy ambassador to the UN, serving under new envoy Cha, a legal associate of President Lee and a political appointee with no foreign service experience.

Bae’s unusual reappointment to the same post he previously held has drawn criticism as an excessive move to support an unseasoned ambassador.

Observers say these cascading delays and reshuffles reflect underlying political calculations. Career diplomats are being sidelined as key ambassador posts remain held up by decisions over where to place political appointees.

“Every time a new administration takes office, more energy is spent divvying up major posts for political allies than addressing actual diplomatic needs,” said one diplomatic source. “That’s why these vacancies drag on.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK HYUN-JU [[email protected]]