By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee 

Joseph Yun, Chargé d’Affaires, ad interim, at the U.S. Embassy in Korea visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Jan. 14 and met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul and First Secretary Kim Hong-gyun.

Minister Cho received Acting Ambassador Yun at the Foreign Ministry building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and asked him to work hard to advance the Korea-U.S. alliance, the ministry said.

Vice Minister Kim also met with Ambassador Yun and exchanged views on topics including bilateral relations and North Korea.

“I welcome the appointment of Acting Ambassador Yun, a talented diplomat with deep ties to South Korea,” Vice Minister Kim said, asking him to make efforts to ensure that the achievements of bilateral cooperation between South Korea and the United States will continue after the new US administration takes office.

Kim also noted the need for closer cooperation between South Korea and the United States on the North Korean nuclear issue, and asked Yun to work to ensure smooth communication between the two countries.

“We will do our best at the U.S. Embassy to maintain and further develop the strong U.S.-ROK alliance,” Yun said.

Yun arrived in South Korea on Jan. 11 to take over the duties of his predecessor, Ambassador Philip Goldberg. This is the first time the U.S. has sent a separate acting ambassador to fill a vacant U.S. ambassadorial position. As an acting ambassador, the position is temporary and does not require U.S. Senate confirmation or South Korean government approval.

The U.S. decision to appoint the acting ambassador reflects the U.S. desire to stabilize U.S.-South Korea relations in light of the unstable political situation in South Korea and the growing cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

In the past, when the U.S. ambassador departed, the embassy's deputy ambassador served as acting ambassador. However, the appointment of a new ambassador takes a considerable amount of time, as the nominee must go through the Senate confirmation process. The post was vacant for 16 months before Goldberg was appointed in July 2022 and 18 months before Harry Harris arrived in July 2018.

Acting Ambassador Yun, a Korean-American, began his career as a diplomat in 1985 and has served in South Korea, Thailand, France, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and elsewhere. He also served as the U.S. State Department's senior deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs, overseeing East Asian policy.

After serving as U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia since 2013, he joined the State Department in October 2016 as Special Representative for North Korea Policy and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Korean and Japanese Affairs in the Barack Obama administration. He retired in March 2018 during President Donald Trump's first administration.