Seoul's new envoy to Vietnam gets warning for anti-US remarks
President Moon Jae-in, right, shakes hands with newly appointed Ambassador to Vietnam Kim Do-hyun at Cheong Wa Dae last week.
By Oh Young-jin
The Foreign Ministry Tuesday admonished the new ambassador to Vietnam, Kim Do-hyun, for his critical remarks about the United States during an interview with a vernacular Korean paper.
The remarks in question are as follows: "The reason why the inter-Korean summit was successful is because pro-United States diplomats were not put in charge. ... a majority of Korean diplomats have thought they could get promoted if they were close to Americans and if not, they would have no future."
New Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Kim Do-hyun
A ministry spokesman said, "Ambassador Kim went to his post several days ago. Since he will have many chances to have interviews with media, we have internally taken necessary steps."
He said that he didn't reveal what steps were taken but didn't object when asked whether it was tantamount to a "verbal warning."
Kim worked for Samsung Electronics after he left the government in 2012. There were some critical reports about Kim's appointment because he moved from Samsung to the senior diplomatic post, raising an issue with the possible collusive ties.
But Kim was the eye of the storm in 2003 when he reported to Cheong Wa Dae about his senior backbiting the then-President Roh Moo-hyun in a private function. It was said that Kim's senior, who was fired, called Roh "Taliban." Yoon Young-kwan, Roh's first foreign minister, was replaced, while Kim's boss, Wi Sung-rak, had his promising career sidetracked.