Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Foreign ministry to expand Africa division
By Yi Whan-woo
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will increase the number of divisions in Africa from one to two, in what is seen as a bid to enhance diplomacy in the region.
The African Union flag
By Yi Whan-woo
It will be the first time since 2009 that the ministry has had more than one division specializing in Africa-related issues.
The ministry now runs the Africa Division under the wing of the African and Middle Eastern Affairs Bureau, which also consists of Middle East Division 1 and 2.
“Consultations are underway between us and other relevant ministry officials. Once we complete the legal and other procedures, we should be able to operate the two divisions by the end of first half this year,” a ministry official said.
The bureau will then have Africa Division 1 and 2, with each division responsible for either the southeastern or northwestern parts of Africa.
One of the two divisions will also deal with issues related to the African Union (AU), a governing body consisting of 55 countries.
Africa-related units at the ministry have been expanded or scaled back over time, depending on how Korea rates the continent's importance.
For instance, there were two divisions when the Middle Eastern Affairs Bureau was set up in 1975.
In 1979, the ministry formed the Africa Bureau consisting of the five divisions amid efforts to woo nascent African countries in U.N. votes concerning security on the Korean Peninsula.
The bureau scaled back to two divisions in 1981 and then to one division in 1994, before being dissolved later that year.
The number of divisions was expanded to two again in the same year as part of African and Middle Eastern Affairs Bureau, but reduced to one in 2009.
“Although Africa is seen as the last frontier of opportunity and strategic importance, the reason behind expanding the Africa-related unit is that our infrastructure lags behind other countries and we need to catch up,” the ministry official said.
The official pointed out that China and Japan had independent Africa bureaus under their respective ministries.
The official also pointed out that expanding the Africa division was in accordance with diversifying diplomacy under the Moon Jae-in administration.
Africa has an average 5.5 percent economic growth rate, and 70 percent of its population is aged 30 or younger.
Korea-Africa trade volume increased from $1.2 billion in 1990 to $19.3 billion in 2018.
The 2018 amount accounts for only 2 percent of South Korea's foreign trade.