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President Roh Moo-hyun on Thursday tapped the chairman of the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, Hong Seok-hyun, as the new ambassador to the United States. Hong will replace incumbent Han Sung-joo.
When asked about selecting the media mogul as the ambassador in Washington, D.C, a Foreign Ministry official said, "I understand that Hong's personal background of having gained a doctorate degree from an American university and being widely known in the international community as chairman of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) have contributed to the decision."
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President Roh Moo-hyun and chairman of the JoongAng Ilbo Hong Seok-hyun pose for a photo op during their meeting last February at Cheong Wa Dae. Roh named Hong as the nation's new ambassador to the United States on Friday.
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Ambassador-designate Hong graduated from the Electronics Engineering department of Seoul National University, earned a Ph.D. degree in economics from Stanford University and has been chairman of the WAN since 2002.
Earlier, chief presidential secretary Kim Woo-shik informed reporters covering Cheong Wa Dae of the replacement of Ambassador Han. Regarding the choice of his replacement, Kim said, "President Roh, having agonized over how to enhance American understanding of Korea, particularly of intellectuals, has found a 'big card.'"
It is unusual for the top assistant to the chief executive, the appointer of senior government officials, to publicly disclose the replacement of an envoy to a major country. A Cheong Wa Dae official said, "I understand that Ambassador Han has recently made an 'inappropriate remark' to Korean correspondents in Washington."
Chief presidential secretary Kim made it clear that Economy and Finance Minister Lee Hun-jai will stay in his post by remarking, "A rider of a horse does not change that runs when the administration is bent on making all-out efforts for economic recovery in the next year." Kim suggested that the forthcoming cabinet reshuffle will be minor when he said, "Some ministers can be changed."
(Shin Jeong-rok, jrshin@chosun.com )
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