Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Kim Sung-hwan lamented over the poor proficiency in English found among mid-tier employees. He indicated that they will not be assigned to overseas embassies until they pass a test. But he failed to mention the lack of diplomats’ fluency in foreign languages other than English.
A governing-party lawmaker said 38 percent of Korean diplomats have difficulty in English communication. He alleged that many of them may impede communication due to misspelling in writing and use of inappropriate vocabulary.
Although the sampling is not comprehensive and limited, poor English proficiency is problematic even for Korean diplomats.
The question is how they are recruited despite their poor level of English. Is the current language-proficiency test appropriate? Does the ministry have an effective program for upgrading the English proficiency of its personnel?
More problematic than their poor communication skills in English is the lack of diplomats’ capability of speaking foreign languages such as French, German or Spanish. Only one diplomat can speak in Swedish. Fewer than three diplomats can speak in one of the seven non-English foreign languages. The Board of Audit and Inspection said the foreign ministry has no employee capable of speaking in one of the 26 non-English foreign languages.
English should not be the only criteria in selecting future diplomats. Other foreign languages are also indispensable for diplomats of the world's 13th largest economy. Seoul's recruitment policy must undergo changes in favor of future diplomats capable of speaking foreign languages other than English. The current limited quota on the special-language speakers is not enough.
This can be well illustrated by the fluency of the Korean language among many diplomats stationed here, including Vitally Fen, dean of the diplomatic corps in Korea and Uzbekistani ambassador to Korea. Koreans feel an extra affinity to diplomats speaking in Korean.
The ministry must revive the policy of giving added points to those fluent in foreign languages other than English. English-speaking countries are not the only arena where Korean diplomats are necessary.
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