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Controversy is brewing over whether the government ignored diplomatic etiquette in revealing the successful nomination of Hong Seok-hyun as ambassador to the United States. Critics claim Friday's announcement was rushed and forewent protocol in not first seeking "agrement" from the U.S.
Agrement is the diplomatic practice of seeking approval of an ambassadorial nominee from the other capital before dispatching him or her to the country.
While publicly broadcasting Hong's selection as Korea's latest envoy to the U.S., a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday that diplomatic "agrement" had been requested, but it was customary not to reveal at what time this had been pursued.
The high-ranking Cheong Wa Dae official who first released the news to the media the night before disagreed, however, claiming it had neither been sought nor confirmed a consensus. On Friday, at approximately the same time as the Foreign Ministry spokesperson was disclosing the news, multiple Cheong Wa Dae and ministry officials undermined his claim by denying that the custom had been observed.
In the end, the spokesperson seemed to be the only person in the government who was convinced that any "agrement" had occurred.
Commenting on this, one Cheong Wa Dae official wondered whether the government had hurriedly announced Hong's tentative appointment and only requested "agrement" from the United States after presidential secretary Kim Woo-shik let it slip to reporters the night before that there had been an ambassadorial reshuffle.
Traditionally in the case of ambassadors and consul generals, official announcements are only made after the "agrement" procedures have been completed. This is because while nominating diplomatic envoys is left entirely at the discretion of the nation sending them, the recipient country is equally free to accept or deny them.
If the other side judges there is sufficient reason to disqualify a particular individual as a diplomatic envoy, it can refuse to recognize them - a process that usually takes from four to six weeks.
(Gwon Gyeong-bok, kkb@chosun.com )
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