Foreign Minister: "The Role of Public Diplomacy is Important Amid the Current Domestic Political Situation"

Opening Remarks at the 9th Public Diplomacy Committee Meeting
Allocation of 800 Billion Won Budget for Public Diplomacy in the Coming Year

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 20th that the 9th Public Diplomacy Committee meeting, chaired by Minister Cho Tae-yeol, reviewed and approved the '2025 Comprehensive Public Diplomacy Implementation Plan.'

This plan consolidates the public diplomacy implementation plans for the next year established by a total of 18 government ministries and 17 local governments, with a budget of 797.578 billion KRW allocated for 492 projects in the public diplomacy sector next year.

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol is speaking at a joint foreign press briefing held on the morning of the 18th at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

In his opening remarks, Minister Cho stated, "In the current domestic political situation, the role of public diplomacy is crucial in restoring the trust of the international community and the nation's standing." He added, "In particular, it is necessary to utilize our citizens' mature civic consciousness and the resilience and robustness of our democracy as valuable assets for public diplomacy."

He also said, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will actively support as the government's public diplomacy control tower to ensure that the projects planned by related agencies next year proceed smoothly and are carried out in an interconnected and efficient manner."

The participating agencies at the meeting agreed to strengthen cooperation to faithfully implement various projects under the 2025 Comprehensive Public Diplomacy Implementation Plan, including enhancing national prestige, diversifying public diplomacy regionally, and solidifying future cooperation foundations with the next generation.