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The Foreign Ministry is hiring an American PR firm to put a positive spin on its U.S. policies in a nation that has been reading them as increasingly hostile.
The Foreign Ministry recently wrote to the parliamentary Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee asking for an extra budget of W1.2 billion (about US$1.2 million) next year to pay for the plan, which would take PR work off the hands of the Korean Embassy in Washington.
In the notice, the ministry said the plan aimed to improve understanding and correct misconceptions of Korea¡¯s diplomatic and security policies vis-a-vis the U.S among Americans.
This would be the first time Korea has hired a private firm for the urgent task of improving its image in an alliance many Americans perceive as increasingly strained.
¡°There are limits to what embassy staff can do to deal with U.S. opinion leaders like journalists, academics and lawmakers in a systematic way. Local PR firms know the internal situation in the U.S. best and have the necessary connections,¡± the ministry said. ¡°We have to turn around U.S. public opinion about Korea¡¯s diplomatic and security policies and relations to the U.S., and we are going to look for ways of countering smears and attacks against Korea.¡±
The firm would try to bring influential Americans on side to give Korea¡¯s position in major U.S. newspapers, persuade broadcasters to report positively on the country and let experts speak for Korea.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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