Impact Player: Cho Tae-yul

The Impact Player of Cho Tae-yul has been updated from the 2016 version. 

Who is Cho Tae-yul?

Cho Tae-yul has been appointed the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. Since beginning his career in 1979 with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cho has gained extensive experience in international relations and trade.

Among his many positions as a diplomat, Cho most recently served as the ROK ambassador to the United Nations (2016-2019) and second vice foreign minister (2013-2016) during the Park Geun-hye administration. His other major appointments include  Ambassador to Spain (2008-2011), and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva (2005-2006).

Cho has held several trade-related positions, including chairman of the World Trade Organization dispute panel and Government Procurement Committee in Geneva, Ambassador for Development Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2011-2012), Deputy Minister of Trade (2006-2008), Director General for Bilateral Trade (2003-2005), and Deputy Director General for Trade Policy Planning and North American and European Trade (2002-2003).

Cho received a bachelor’s degree in law from Seoul National University (1979) and continued his studies in public international law at the Graduate School of Seoul National University (1979-1981) and international relations at Oxford University (1982-1983).

Why has he been in the news?

On December 19, 2023, President Yoon Suk Yeol announced Cho Tae-yul to succeed Park Jin as Park transitions back to political life and an imminent run for the National Assembly in the forthcoming April 2024 national elections.  

What can we expect from him?

While experienced in all fields, Cho’s extensive expertise in bilateral and multilateral diplomacy in economics and trade will inform the Yoon government’s policies on economic security and supply chain resilience, as well as trade negotiations like IPEF and CPTPP.