Regressive diplomacy

No time for foreign ministry to praise itself

Cheong Wa Dae, while planning this year’s ``Dialogue with the President” on Feb. 1, had wanted to limit the subjects to only the economy and diplomacy. This shows the Lee Myung-bak administration takes the greatest pride in its accomplishments in these two areas. It also reaffirms how wide the gaps are between the viewpoints of the governing and the governed, or between outlooks and substance.

Nothing could illustrate this gulf better than the G20 Seoul Summit on Nov. 11 and 12. President Lee and his aides loudly trumpeted Korea’s fastest recovery from global financial crisis brought the ``largest meeting of global leaders” to Seoul. Actually, the decision on the venue was made as early as in 2007 under the previous administration, by the simple principle of continental rotation. The government also emphasized the event would catapult Korea to the rank of global leaders.

No single international meet can turn a mid-level country into a global leader. It is true Seoul played a role in mediating troubles between global powers and made some diplomatic initiatives. But that was then. In the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Paris last month, Korea could hardly been seen near the center. For Korea to continue to attract global attention, it should be able to present correct and creative solutions to international issues. That is not a job a single bureau at the finance ministry can handle but a task to be tackled by an interagency task force.

Would it be too much to say that even the government seems to have already forgotten the two-day event that cost hundreds of millions of dollars?

The foreign ministry’s emails highlighting own accomplishment over the past three years also focuses on its success in concluding free trade agreements with the world’s two largest markets of the U.S. and EU.

Aside from public criticism of one humiliating concession after another Seoul has made in the Korea-U.S. FTA, the ministry is standing at the center of another controversy over the mistranslation of some provisions in the pact with the EU.

Even more astonishing than the mistranslations were the attitudes of some foreign ministry officials pushing to win the National Assembly’s approval of the mistake-laden treaty, and seek the understanding of their European counterparts later, because they are so ``pressed for time” for it to go into effect on July 1.

One can’t help asking for whom do these government employees think they are ``mainly” working; the people, the President or themselves?

It is understandable the ministry boasts an enhanced alliance with the United States amid escalating inter-Korean confrontation. But it is beyond comprehension how they can say Seoul’s relationship with Beijing has also been upgraded under the present administration. It was only months ago the Chinese military staged a drill in protest to the Korea-U.S. joint exercise in the West Sea.

We hope it was just further diplomatic rhetoric, but it can hardly dispel the inauspicious feeling that more than a few ministry officials might really believe it, considering their extremely self-centered interpretation of facts.

In the wake of the scandal concerning the ``special employment” of the former foreign minister’s daughter, the ministry vowed to renew itself by enhancing basics and ensuring fairer administration. If the ministry’s flustered reaction to the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East is any guide, however, such pledges have only ended up as such, at least so far. Some ambassadors, including the envoy to Libya, had to hurry back to their missions from Seoul recently, as they had failed to foresee what would happen there just a day later or two.

By any measure, this seems to be a bad time for the ministry to blow its own horn and it should remain faithful to what the people suppose it to do.