President Lee Jae-myung is sending special envoys to 14 countries, starting with the European Union (EU). This is an overwhelmingly high number of countries for which special envoys have been dispatched among previous governments. It breaks the precedent of sending special envoys only to the major powers commonly known as the 'four strongest.' The presidential office said, 'This is to inform the world of the restoration of normal diplomacy of a democratic Korea.' However, there are arguments in some quarters that this is a 'reward vacation for election contributors.' This is because most of the special envoys were key figures in Lee's election campaign committee.
According to the Democratic Party of Korea and other ruling parties on the 28th, the Lee Jae-myung administration has formed a delegation of special envoys to be sent to 11 countries. The delegation consists of one Director General and two members. A total of 33 people have been appointed. Among them, nine are members of President Lee's election campaign committee, while 23 are serving members of the Democratic Party of Korea. The only external member is Park Yong-man, a former chairman of Doosan Group, who is the special envoy to the United States.
Most of the special envoys are former chairs of the election campaign committee. Those who had been in charge of the central and regional campaign committees have been named as special envoys, including Youn Yeo-jun (EU), Kang Geum-sil (France), Kim Byeong-joo (Canada), Kim Boo-kyum (India), Kim Yeong-chun (Malaysia), Park Ji-won (Poland), Lee Seok-yeon (Germany), and Choo Mi-ae (the UK). Former National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo, a progressive elder and Australian special envoy, and Park Chang-dal, a former member of parliament newly appointed due to the health issues of his predecessor (Vietnam), have also participated in the campaign committee.
The delegation of special envoys is dispatched to inform about the new government's national philosophy and foreign policy. Although there are no specific legal standards, this government has notably included many members from the campaign committee, which has led to criticism of it being a 'reward vacation.'
Previous presidents have also sent special envoy delegations in the early stages of their administrations. However, they typically dispatched special envoys focusing on the U.S., Japan, China, and Russia. In special cases, only the EU had a separate envoy delegation. In fact, ▲ the Lee Myung-bak administration sent special envoys to the U.S., China, Japan, and Russia (four countries) ▲ the Park Geun-hye administration sent special envoys to the U.S. and China (two countries) ▲ the Moon Jae-in administration sent special envoys to the U.S., China, Japan, Russia, EU, and Germany (six countries) ▲ the Yoon Suk-yeol administration sent special envoys to the U.S., China, Japan, and EU (four countries). The special envoys also varied in background, including campaign committee members, university professors, former diplomats, and corporate owners.
The presidential office explained that it increased the number of countries to which special envoys are dispatched to inform as many nations as possible about 'the normalization of diplomacy.' Woo Sang-ho, the senior political aide to the presidential office, noted during a briefing on the 7th that 'the number of countries receiving special envoys has increased compared to previous years,' adding that 'the fact that Korea, which was confused after the declaration of martial law, has rapidly regained stability and normalization after President Lee Jae-myung took office is something we want to inform other countries, and we aim to establish various cooperative relationships between those countries and Korea.'
It remains uncertain whether significantly increasing the number of special envoys will lead to maximized national interests. Notably, major countries like Japan, China, and Russia have yet to form their special envoy delegations. The U.S. delegation led by the former chairman is still unable to schedule a visit.
Some special envoys returned without meeting the heads of state in the countries to which they were dispatched. Since special envoys deliver the president's letter, it is customary for the heads of state to receive the letter directly, as it shows diplomatic courtesy. The special envoy delegation to France, led by former Minister Kang Geum-sil, met with Emmanuel Bonne, the foreign policy adviser to President Emmanuel Macron, instead of the president himself. The special envoy delegation to the UK, led by Choo Mi-ae, met with National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, while Kim Byeong-joo's delegation to Canada met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand and Minister of National Defense David McGuinty.
The opposition party has called for the transparency of the process for dispatching the president's special envoys. Yoon Sang-hyun, a member of the People Power Party, remarked about the special envoy delegation that 'when you look at the members of the delegation, almost all of them are individuals who served as chairs of the campaign committee, and the composition of the special envoy delegation is filled with Democratic Party of Korea members,' adding that 'it is difficult for the public to easily accept the sudden expansion of the target countries to 14, unlike previous governments.'