[Editor’s Note] As competition intensifies over semiconductor and battery supply chains, defense exports, nuclear energy, and artificial intelligence, the nature of diplomacy is rapidly evolving. While traditional diplomacy focused on managing inter-state relations and formal negotiations, today’s embassies have become complex forward bases that support market entry for domestic companies, identify supply chain disruptions, back large-scale contracts, and ensure the safety of citizens abroad during wars and disasters.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already established meetings for economic security officers at embassies and is urging cooperation with local businesses and relevant organizations to resolve corporate challenges. In this context, Aju Economy examines the roles and significance of overseas embassies through the current status of domestic and international ambassadors.
President Lee Jae-myung pursues practical diplomacy for national interests. One of the notable features of his administration’s appointments of overseas ambassadors is the strengthening of special envoys.
According to diplomatic sources on July 22, the Lee Jae-myung administration has appointed 30 to 40 special envoys to seek strategic diversification in diplomacy. Special envoys are appointed by the president to undertake specific diplomatic tasks and are typically experts rather than career diplomats.
Son Hyuk-sang, the South Korean ambassador to Paraguay and a recognized expert in official development assistance (ODA), exemplifies this trend. He is the first former head of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), which oversees South Korea’s overseas grants, to serve as an ambassador on the front lines of diplomacy.
Paraguay, a landlocked country in the heart of South America, is considered one of South Korea’s four key partners in Latin America, alongside Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru. Since beginning its support in 1991, South Korea has invested a total of $182.29 million in areas such as education and health by 2024. The focus is on modernizing the Paraguayan government’s administration and improving digital accessibility.
The era of one-sided support from one country to another has passed. It is crucial to create a cooperative model that organically integrates South Korea’s advanced information and communication technology (ICT) and medical technology with Paraguay’s diverse development potential.
The safety of citizens abroad is paramount. In March, the government executed Operation “Desert Light,” allowing citizens stranded due to the conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran to return home via military transport aircraft.
On March 15, a KC-330 “Cygnus” multi-purpose aerial refueling transport aircraft landed at Seongnam Seoul Airport with 204 South Koreans, five foreign nationals, and two Japanese citizens, totaling 211 passengers. The Cygnus departed from Korea on the morning of the 14th, arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that afternoon, and then returned to Korea with the evacuees that evening.
Thorough preparations made Operation “Desert Light” possible. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Kang Shin-cheol, a former deputy commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ rapid response team worked diligently to ensure the safe return of citizens in the Middle East. The government sought cooperation from over ten countries along the transport route for airspace passage.
In May, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recognized 13 staff members from 13 embassies in the Middle East and 11 employees from the Overseas Crisis Response Division for their contributions to the evacuation and repatriation of South Koreans stranded in the region since the outbreak of war.
The embassies involved included the South Korean embassies in Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iraq, Lebanon, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Consulate General in Dubai, Qatar, Turkmenistan, Jordan, Egypt, and Oman. The Ministry stated, “We supported the rapid and safe evacuation and return of over 6,600 South Koreans stranded in dangerous situations, including bombings.”
Overseas, the diversification of ambassadors is keeping pace with rapidly changing global trends. In Japan, most ambassadors are selected from among Foreign Ministry staff, but experts from various fields and retired officials from other ministries are also appointed as ambassadors. Notable examples include former Bank of Japan Governor Akiyoshi Araki as ambassador to the U.S. and former NHK President Tetsuro Furugaki as ambassador to France.
In the United States, ambassador appointments are made from senior foreign service officers who have passed selection processes and gained experience at the State Department or through political appointments by the president. There is a regulation stating that “no individual should be granted an ambassadorship due to financial contributions to political campaigns.”
The definition of “diplomatic expertise” must now be rewritten. As of 2026, insights across advanced technology, capital, diplomacy, and security are essential.
Special envoys with flexibility, political judgment, and unique expertise in various fields will be crucial for South Korea’s practical diplomacy to deeply permeate around the world.
* This article has been translated by AI.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already established meetings for economic security officers at embassies and is urging cooperation with local businesses and relevant organizations to resolve corporate challenges. In this context, Aju Economy examines the roles and significance of overseas embassies through the current status of domestic and international ambassadors.
President Lee Jae-myung pursues practical diplomacy for national interests. One of the notable features of his administration’s appointments of overseas ambassadors is the strengthening of special envoys.
According to diplomatic sources on July 22, the Lee Jae-myung administration has appointed 30 to 40 special envoys to seek strategic diversification in diplomacy. Special envoys are appointed by the president to undertake specific diplomatic tasks and are typically experts rather than career diplomats.
Son Hyuk-sang, the South Korean ambassador to Paraguay and a recognized expert in official development assistance (ODA), exemplifies this trend. He is the first former head of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), which oversees South Korea’s overseas grants, to serve as an ambassador on the front lines of diplomacy.
Paraguay, a landlocked country in the heart of South America, is considered one of South Korea’s four key partners in Latin America, alongside Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru. Since beginning its support in 1991, South Korea has invested a total of $182.29 million in areas such as education and health by 2024. The focus is on modernizing the Paraguayan government’s administration and improving digital accessibility.
The era of one-sided support from one country to another has passed. It is crucial to create a cooperative model that organically integrates South Korea’s advanced information and communication technology (ICT) and medical technology with Paraguay’s diverse development potential.
The safety of citizens abroad is paramount. In March, the government executed Operation “Desert Light,” allowing citizens stranded due to the conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran to return home via military transport aircraft.
On March 15, a KC-330 “Cygnus” multi-purpose aerial refueling transport aircraft landed at Seongnam Seoul Airport with 204 South Koreans, five foreign nationals, and two Japanese citizens, totaling 211 passengers. The Cygnus departed from Korea on the morning of the 14th, arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that afternoon, and then returned to Korea with the evacuees that evening.
Thorough preparations made Operation “Desert Light” possible. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Kang Shin-cheol, a former deputy commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ rapid response team worked diligently to ensure the safe return of citizens in the Middle East. The government sought cooperation from over ten countries along the transport route for airspace passage.
In May, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recognized 13 staff members from 13 embassies in the Middle East and 11 employees from the Overseas Crisis Response Division for their contributions to the evacuation and repatriation of South Koreans stranded in the region since the outbreak of war.
The embassies involved included the South Korean embassies in Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iraq, Lebanon, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Consulate General in Dubai, Qatar, Turkmenistan, Jordan, Egypt, and Oman. The Ministry stated, “We supported the rapid and safe evacuation and return of over 6,600 South Koreans stranded in dangerous situations, including bombings.”
Overseas, the diversification of ambassadors is keeping pace with rapidly changing global trends. In Japan, most ambassadors are selected from among Foreign Ministry staff, but experts from various fields and retired officials from other ministries are also appointed as ambassadors. Notable examples include former Bank of Japan Governor Akiyoshi Araki as ambassador to the U.S. and former NHK President Tetsuro Furugaki as ambassador to France.
In the United States, ambassador appointments are made from senior foreign service officers who have passed selection processes and gained experience at the State Department or through political appointments by the president. There is a regulation stating that “no individual should be granted an ambassadorship due to financial contributions to political campaigns.”
The definition of “diplomatic expertise” must now be rewritten. As of 2026, insights across advanced technology, capital, diplomacy, and security are essential.
Special envoys with flexibility, political judgment, and unique expertise in various fields will be crucial for South Korea’s practical diplomacy to deeply permeate around the world.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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