By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo World leaders have sent their condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims and the people of South Korea following the tragic crash of a Jeju Air passenger plane at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement, “I am deeply saddened by the news of the aircraft crash in South Korea. I send my heartfelt condolences to the people of South Korea and Thailand, and to all those who have lost loved ones,” he retweeted a post from Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Foreign ambassadors from the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and other countries have expressed their condolences over the crash of a Jeju Air passenger plane at Muan International Airport in Jeolla Province on Dec. 29. “I was heartbroken to hear the tragic news this morning at Muan Airport,” U.S. Ambassador to Korea Philip Goldberg said on X (formerly Twitter), adding, ”My heartfelt condolences go out to the victims and their families, and our thoughts are with the Korean people at this difficult time.” China's new ambassador to South Korea, Dai Bin
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo POSCO Holdings has joined forces with Hancock Prospecting, an Australian mining company, to strengthen the supply chain for lithium used in Rechargeable battery materials. POSCO Holdings and Hancock Prospecting formalized their collaboration by signing a business agreement on lithium cooperation on Dec. 9. The signing ceremony was conducted via video conference between Korea and Australia, with attendance from POSCO Holdings’ Jun-hyung Kim, Head of Rechargeable Battery Materials (Senior Executive Vice President), and Garry Korte, CEO of Hancock Prospecting, amo
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo “We hope to strengthen cooperation with South Korea to promote peace and stability in the region and mutually support the successful hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings,” new Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Dai Bing said on Dec. 27. The post has been vacant for nearly six months after former ambassador Xing Haiming stepped down in July. “While upholding the international free trade system, I hope to create a favorable environment and conditions for the common development of our two countries and the solidarity and cooperation of t
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo U.S. Ambassador to Korea Philip Goldberg, who will leave Seoul next January, said, “I'm going home with very fond memories of Seoul,” adding, “It's true that there has been uncertainty in Seoul over the past two weeks, but what we can be sure of is the strong U.S.-Korea alliance.” Goldberg made the remarks at Seoul City Hall on Dec. 26, where he received an honorary citizenship certificate from Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon. Goldberg, who was appointed U.S. ambassador to South Korea in July 2022, will leave Seoul next January when he retires. “I am so pleased to recei
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon met with U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Philip Goldberg on Dec. 24 to reaffirm the unwavering partnership between South Korea and the United States. During the luncheon meeting, Governor Kim expressed his gratitude for Ambassador Goldberg's unwavering belief in and support for the resilience of Korean democracy despite the martial law and impeachment situation. The two reaffirmed the unwavering commitment of the U.S.-ROK alliance, including economic cooperation, including high-tech industrial exchanges, and ple
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo The year 2024 marks the next successful chapter in the history of the friendly and cooperative relationship between Azerbaijan and Korea. Our countries, which maintain full-fledged and multidimensional cooperation, eagerly continued also throughout this year their high-level political dialogue and work for strengthening their economic, humanitarian and cultural bonds as well as implemented a number of meaningful projects. 2024 has been also promising year for diversifying our bilateral collaboration by expanding exchanges and engagement in the future-oriented a
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo SK bioscience and Sanofi announced on Dec. 23 the signing of an expanded agreement to co-develop next-generation pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) for both pediatric and adult populations, with the potential to provide broader protection than those currently licensed. This agreement builds on the companies’ existing collaboration to develop and commercialize the GBP410, a 21-valent pneumococcal conjugate pediatric vaccine candidate. Together, the companies aim to develop innovative next-generation PCVs beyond GBP410. At the same time, SK bioscience and San
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Incheon Mayor Yoo Jung-bok met with U.S. Pacific Command Commander Samuel Paparo on Dec. 20 and formally invited him to attend the 75th anniversary of the Incheon Battle D-Day commemoration, which Incheon will host as a national event next year. Mayor Yoo was the only city governor invited to attend the change of command ceremony for the commander of U.S. Forces Korea at Humphreys U.S. Army Base in Pyeongtaek at 2 p.m., where he presented an official invitation to U.S. Pacific Commander Samuel Paparo, who presided over the ceremony to attend next year's commemo
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) delegation, led by Smt. Aarti Bhatnagar, Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser (AS&FA) (Deputy Minister) participated in the COMEUP 2024 Startup Festival held at Seoul from 11-12 December 2024. Deputy Minister was accompanied with representatives from DPIIT, Startup India Team and participating members from Indian startups. During the inaugural event of COMEUP 2024, Minister of SMEs and Startups Young-ju Oh visited the Indian booths and saw the presentation by the Indian startup Krypton AI
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo (New Year Message) Dear readers of the Diplomacy Journal, On behalf of the Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Republic of Korea and myself, allow me to extend heartfelt congratulations on the upcoming year 2025. May it bring new achievements, strengthen mutual understanding, and become a time of fruitful development for all of us! The outgoing year, 2024, was truly eventful and significant for Kyrgyz-Korean bilateral relations. The highlight of the year was the official visit of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Japarov, to the Republic of Korea fr
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo (New Year Message) Dear readers of the Diplomacy Journal, As we embark on a new year, I extend my warmest greetings to the readers of Diplomacy Journal and the people of the Republic of Korea. The year 2024 was a remarkable one for the Philippines and Korea, marked by the deepening of our bilateral ties with the elevation of our relations to that of a Strategic Partnership and the ratification of our Free Trade Agreement. As we celebrated the 75th anniversary of our diplomatic relations, we reflected on the enduring friendship that has shaped our shared history
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo (New Year Message) Dear readers of the Diplomacy Journal, I would like to extend warmest congratulations to all the readers of Diplomacy Journal on the New Year 2025 and express my sincere gratitude for your crucial support and assistance in strengthening multifaceted relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Korea. The past year has been very eventful and fruitful for the enhanced strategic partnership between the two countries and has reached new heights through three key diplomatic events. First, the state visit of President Yoon Suk-y
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo (New Year Message) Dear readers of the Diplomacy Journal, I would like to thank the Diplomacy Journal magazine for the opportunity to extend my New Year's greetings and wish its readers a productive 2025. Last in November 16th, during the APEC Leaders' Summit in Lima, Peru transferred the presidency of the forum to South Korea. This instance acts as the primary platform for economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. Over the past 35 years, APEC has successfully fostered trade and investment integration in the world’s most dynamic economic region, which no
By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo (New Year Message) Dear readers of the Diplomacy Journal, On behalf of the Royal Thai Embassy and Team Thailand in Seoul, I would like to send my warmest wishes to the people of the Republic of Korea and the Thai community in the ROK. This season of renewal is an opportune moment to reflect on the deep friendship and ever-growing strategic partnership between our two nations. In 2024, we witnessed high-level visits to the ROK of Thai Minister of Defence, Minister of Labour, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and that of the President of the National Assembly of Thail