[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho]Cho Hyun-dong, the nominee for the 1st Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, is regarded as a 'North America and North Korea nuclear expert' diplomat. He is considered a representative diplomatic official well-versed in U.S. diplomacy and North Korea nuclear issues, having served as Charg? d'Affaires at the Embassy in the United States and as Director of the North Korea Nuclear Diplomacy Planning Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He graduated from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies with a major in Spanish and Portuguese and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1985 after passing the 19th Foreign Service Examination. He served as Director of the North America 3 Division in the North American Affairs Bureau and as Minister-Counselor at the Embassy in India. During the Lee Myung-bak administration, starting in 2008, he worked as a Senior Administrative Officer in the Office of Foreign Affairs Strategy at the Blue House. It is known that he worked closely with Kim Tae-hyo, then Senior Secretary for Foreign Affairs Strategy, who was later nominated as the 1st Deputy Director of the National Security Office under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
From 2010 to 2012, he was the Director of the North Korea Nuclear Diplomacy Planning Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (then Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade), handling practical negotiations on North Korea's nuclear issues. He later served as Special Advisor to the Foreign Minister, Charg? d'Affaires at the Embassy in the United States, Ambassador for Public Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Director-General of Planning and Coordination. Recently, he served as the Representative of the Korea Investment Promotion Office at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Although he held major positions at headquarters, he has no ambassadorial experience.
During the Roh Moo-hyun administration in 2004, he was a key figure in the so-called 'Autonomy faction vs. Alliance faction' controversy that shook the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At that time, as Director of the North America 3 Division, he was dismissed from his post following a whistleblower report that he criticized President Roh Moo-hyun and some 386-generation officials at the Blue House for their U.S. diplomatic policies in private. After serving at the Embassy in India, he returned to the Blue House during the Lee Myung-bak administration. When the Moon Jae-in administration took office, he stepped down from his position as Director of the Policy Planning Office and remained at headquarters before retiring.
▲ Seoul (62) ▲ Seoul High School ▲ Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Department of Spanish and Portuguese ▲ 19th Foreign Service Examination ▲ Director of North America 3 Division ▲ Minister-Counselor at the Embassy in India ▲ Senior Administrative Officer, Office of Foreign Affairs Strategy, Blue House ▲ Director of North Korea Nuclear Diplomacy Planning Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade ▲ Special Advisor to the Foreign Minister ▲ Charg? d'Affaires at the Embassy in the United States ▲ Ambassador for Public Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs ▲ Director-General of Planning and Coordination ▲ Representative of the Korea Investment Promotion Office at UNIDO
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