Embassy Cancels "Personal Reasons" Three Days in Advance
Jung Jae-ho, the ambassador to China who has been accused of verbally abusing embassy staff, suddenly canceled the monthly briefing scheduled for next month on the 1st for Korean press correspondents.
On the 29th, the Embassy of Korea in China announced that Ambassador Jung would not hold the briefing on the 1st of next month due to "personal reasons."
The monthly briefing, which Ambassador Jung conducts personally once a month, has been held in a one-sided manner where he reads written materials without taking separate questions. However, it is an event where correspondents’ attention is focused in China, where the reporting environment is limited, as the chief diplomat responsible for China explains the analysis of the situation.
In particular, the briefing on the 1st of next month attracted more attention as it was the first time Ambassador Jung would meet correspondents after domestic media reports the previous day revealed allegations of "gapjil" (abuse of power) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ investigation into the matter.
Earlier this month, A, a counselor working at the Embassy of Korea in China, submitted a report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters stating that Ambassador Jung verbally abused and committed gapjil against him/her.
Lim Soo-seok, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing the day before, "When misconduct-related matters are recognized, we conduct thorough investigations and handle them without any suspicion according to principles," adding, "We intend to thoroughly investigate and verify the facts of this case as well, following the same principles."
Through the Embassy of Korea in China, Ambassador Jung stated, "(The media reports) are based solely on one party’s claims," and expressed his intention to refrain from commenting at this stage.
Jung Jae-ho, the first ambassador to China under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, is an expert in Chinese political economy and was a classmate of President Yoon at Chung-Ang High School. He served as a professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Seoul National University and provided policy advice to President Yoon during the last presidential election. Shortly after the election, in April 2022, he visited the United States as part of the Korea-US Policy Consultation Delegation with former Foreign Minister Park Jin and others, explaining President Yoon’s China policy.
Ambassador Jung was appointed as ambassador to China in June of that year and officially took office as the 14th ambassador in August. In January of this year, he also had a private meeting with President Yoon during a visit to Seoul while on leave.
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