Foreign ministry sits on lost cause
Kim Sung-hwan Foreign Minister
By Chung Min-uck
The foreign ministry just can’t get its act together.
Cowed by the power of the presidential transition team, Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan admitted that the interest of the government precedes that of an individual ministry.
Kim referred to the administrative reform that, among others, would strip the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) of trade-related functions.
Now, the ministry is trying to appeal to the National Assembly to rally support in hopes of regaining trade negotiation rights. The functions will go to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE), which is to be expanded and renamed the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy.
Kim was not even aware of changes affecting his ministry. He was on an overseas trip but cut this short to make a personal appeal to the transition team. He said he had not been informed by Park’s team of the move.
Some diplomats urged him to stand up for the ministry, but officials soon gave up hope as he responded with an email to them stating that “the government has precedence over an organization.” It was conceived by them as Kim caving in.
“It is hard to say in a concrete way regarding the issue but Minister Kim already said the government precedes the foreign ministry and we have to stick to this fundamental position,” said a MOFAT official on condition of anonymity. “There are some different aspects included in the report, submitted to the National Assembly, but that doesn’t mean a change in our position.”
The restructuring plan is subject to parliamentary approval and MOFAT has been lobbying lawmakers to help it retain the trade sector.
To make matters worse, the MKE is also making similar efforts to justify the change to lawmakers, saying the trade sector “lacked expertise” under MOFAT.
The transition team and the MKE basically share the same standpoint that MOFAT lacks expertise and has no insight into the the domestic economic market situation.
The foreign ministry, in its report, claimed the transfer plan could hurt overall capabilities in trade negotiations.
“The economy ministry would be limited in coordinating overall trade negotiations because it is in charge of specific manufacturing industries,” it said. “Also, the separation of trade affairs from the foreign ministry would undermine the ministry’s role in providing collaborative efforts in diplomacy and trade.”
As a counter to the restructuring, the report said it was desirable that either the foreign ministry “retains the trade division” or an “independent organization for trade affairs should be set up.”