New Envoys Named; Ambassador to U.S. Lee Tae-sik retained...

By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter

President Lee Myung-bak has named new South Korean ambassadors to China and Japan but retained envoys to the United States and Russia.

Shin Jung-seung, 56, who served as ambassador to New Zealand, was designated as ambassador to China.

Lee also designated Kwon Chul-hyun, 61, a former spokesman of the governing Grand National Party (GNP), as ambassador to Japan.

Shin, who has held key posts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, worked as a minister at the South Korean Embassy in Beijing and served for the government of Gyeonggi Province as a foreign affairs advisor.

Born in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, he majored in diplomacy at Seoul National University.

Kwon, a three-term lawmaker, is regarded as an expert on Japan. He obtained a doctorate in urban sociology from a Japanese graduate school and worked as vice chairman of the Korea-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Association.

Born in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, Kwon graduated from Yonsei University in Seoul.

The President retained Lee Tae-sik and Lee Kyu-hyung as ambassadors to the United States and Russia, respectively.

Korea Times  (Posted 4/10/08)