ED Embarrassing diplomacy

Cheong Wa Dae fails to properly assist Moon's trips

The incompetence of Cheong Wa Dae's protocol team left President Moon Jae-in an embarrassing position during his trip to Southeast Asia last week.

The three-day trip to Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia did not gain a lot of media attention. Unfortunately, the mistakes from Cheong Wa Dae have overshadowed the accomplishments of the trip that was part of Moon's efforts to forge stronger ties with ASEAN nations for a more balanced diplomacy.

After the trip was over, the local media belatedly reported that Moon had used an incorrect greeting during a joint press conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on March 13. Moon used the greeting "Selamat sore," which means "good afternoon" in Indonesian. The correct Malaysian greeting is "Selamat petang.”

Cheong Wa Dae later explained that confusion had occurred while preparing greetings that would convey a sense of friendliness to the host country. The presidential office also said that it will do its best to prevent a similar situation in the future. But the explanation does not sound very sincere, when considering that Cheong Wa Dae's vice spokeswoman Ko Min-jung said Wednesday that the Malaysian government did not make an issue over it. But the absence of a protest from the host country does not excuse the unbelievable carelessness of Cheong Wa Dae's protocol team.

Given the importance President Moon has placed on strengthening diplomacy with Southeast Asia, the presidential office should have been fully prepared to assist Moon in making a good impression on the host countries.

This isn't the only mistake from Cheong Wa Dae regarding the trip. During Moon's visit to Cambodia, Cheong Wa Dae posted an introduction to the country on its Facebook page with photos of another country. One cannot help but wonder whether there is something seriously wrong with the operation of Cheong Wa Dae's communications office.

Diplomatic blunders have been a regular part of Moon's overseas trips. Many still remember when Moon missed the photo session with other heads of states during the ASEM summit in October 2018.

During an interpellation session at the National Assembly, even Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon admitted that there are people at Cheong Wa Dae who lack focus and expertise on diplomacy. Such problems are inevitable when political appointments dominate Cheong Wa Dae.

Moon has come under fire already for incompetence in diplomacy after a series of questionable nominations to Korea's key ambassador posts. In addition, Cheong Wa Dae staff have aroused controversy for their involvement in various scandals recently.

All of these incidents show that Cheong Wa Dae is suffering from a serious lack of professionalism and ethics, which is undermining the people's confidence in the President.

The people will not continue to overlook Cheong Wa Dae's carelessness in managing state affairs.