Impact Player: Cho Tae-yul
Who is he?
Cho Tae-yul officially became the new Republic of Korea (ROK) ambassador to the United Nations in New York December 5. Since March 2013 Cho was second vice minister of foreign affairs of the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). A 62-year old career diplomat, Cho began his career with MOFA in 1979. He is the longest serving vice minister in the Park Geun-hye administration.
Previously Cho was ambassador for International Relations, Gyeonggi province from 2012 to 2013, ambassador to Spain from 2008 to 2011, and ambassador to the Korean Permanent Mission at the UN Office in Geneva from 2005 to 2006.
Many of Cho’s previous positions have been trade-related. While in Geneva, Cho was chairman of the World Trade Organization dispute panel and Government Procurement Committee. He was ambassador for development cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) from 2011 to 2012, deputy minister for trade at MOFAT from 2006 to 2008, director-general of MOFAT’s Bilateral Trade Bureau from 2003 to 2005, deputy director-general for North American and European trade at the Bilateral Trade Bureau from 2002 to 2003, deputy director-general for trade policy planning at MOFAT’s Multilateral Trade Bureau in 2002, and director of international trade division II, International Trade Bureau, MOFA from 1995 to 1996.
Cho also served as special commissioner of the Presidential Transition Committee in 2003, counsellor at the Korean Permanent Mission to the UN Office in Geneva from 1996 to 2000, and assistant to the minister of foreign affairs from 1994 to 1995. Earlier in his career Cho served at Korean embassies in Saudi Arabia, the United States, and Thailand.
Cho was awarded the Order of Service Merit (Red Stripes) in 2008 from the ROK and the Grand Cross of the Order of the Civil Merit from Spain in 2012. He graduated from the College of Law at Seoul National University (1979) and pursued further study at Oxford University (1983).
Why has he been in the news?
On October 7, the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs named Cho Tae-yul the new ROK Ambassador to the UN. He assumed the post after presenting his credentials to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on December 5. He replaces former Ambassador Oh Joon who has been the top envoy for the ROK to the UN since September 2013.
What can we expect from him?
Cho takes over for Oh Joon just as the UN Security Council strengthened sanctions on North Korea by unanimously adopting UNSCR 2321. He will be expected to work with the UNSC on sanctions implementation. ROK MOFA’s statement on the adoption of UNSCR 2321 specifically highlights China and Russia for their part in adopting the resolution. In the past, China has been the prime culprit in not rigorously enforcing sanctions. Tough negotiations with China and Russia presumably led to nearly three months of talks before a resolution was passed. This is significantly longer than the 56 days required after the January 6 nuclear test to pass UNSCR 2270. Cho will work closely with other UN member states to thoroughly implement resolutions 2270 and 2321, and to rally the international community around unified action vis-à-vis North Korea.
In addition, Cho has spent much of his career advancing the ROK’s commercial interests. His appointment as top ROK envoy at the UN will provide opportunities to discuss expanding economic cooperation with his counterparts.
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