Condoleezza Rice, Lee Kyung-chul receive inaugural Lee Hong-koo Diplomacy Award
Summary
Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Lee Kyung-chul have been named the inaugural recipients of the Lee Hong-koo Diplomacy Award. The Seoul Forum for International Affairs announced that it renamed its Youngsan Diplomat Award to honor former Prime Minister Lee Hong-koo, its founding chairman. The awards were presented Wednesday at FKI Tower in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District during SFIA’s 40th anniversary event. About 100 guests attended, including former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Key Facts
- Lee Hong-koo died in May at the age of 91.
- Rice served as U.S. national security advisor under George W. Bush and was U.S. secretary of state from 2005 to 2009.
- Lee Kyung-chul was appointed South Korea’s special representative for Middle East peace in April and also serves as the foreign ministry’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
- SFIA was founded in 1986 by experts in international relations from academia, journalism, business and law.
Lee Kyung-chul, right, special representative for Middle East peace at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, receives the first Lee Hong-koo Diplomacy Award from Ryu Jin, chairman of the Seoul Forum for International Affairs and Poongsan Group, at FKI Tower in Yeouido, Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of SFIA
Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Lee Kyung-chul, special representative for Middle East peace at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have been named the inaugural recipients of the Lee Hong-koo Diplomacy Award.
The Seoul Forum for International Affairs (SFIA), a private diplomatic think tank, announced it has rebranded its Youngsan Diplomat Award, which recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Korean diplomacy, in honor of former Prime Minister Lee Hong-koo.
Lee Hong-koo, who died in May at the age of 91, served as the founding chairman of SFIA.
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The awards were presented Wednesday at FKI Tower in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District during an event marking SFIA’s 40th anniversary. About 100 guests from Korea and abroad attended, including former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks during the Seoul Forum for International Affairs’ 40th anniversary ceremony after receiving the inaugural Lee Hong-koo Diplomacy Award at FKI Tower in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of SFIA
Rice served as national security advisor under former U.S. President George W. Bush before becoming U.S. secretary of state from 2005 to 2009. She is now director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
Lee was appointed Korea's special representative for Middle East peace in April, while also serving as the foreign ministry's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. A career diplomat, he previously served as Korea's high representative on U.N. Security Council affairs from 2024 to 2025.
SFIA was founded in 1986 by experts in international relations from academia, journalism, business and law. It has operated as a channel linking government with civil society, and academia with policy, based on the view that government diplomacy alone cannot keep pace with a rapidly changing international order.
"We will continue to discover new policy ideas and, building on innovative thinking that connects diplomacy, security, the economy and technology, develop our existing private diplomatic network into a more strategic and influential partnership," SFIA President Bark Tae-ho said.
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