Korean Council on Foreign Relations
New Year’s Address

by H.E. Cho Tae-yul, Minister of Foreign Affairs

January 7^th 2025

Unofficial Translation

Your Excellency Ban Ki-Moon, the 8^th UN Secretary-General, Esteemed Former Ministers,

Ambassador Shin Bong-gil, President of the Council on Foreign Relations,

and all veteran diplomats present here, 

Good morning. It is a great pleasure for me to meet former colleagues gathered here today whom I have not met for many years and exchange New Year’s greetings. My thanks go to the Council on Foreign Relations for this opportunity.

The Year of the Blue Snake has dawned but the shock and pain experienced at the end of 2024 still linger in various corners of our society, weighing heavily on my heart. 

First and foremost, I feel a profound sense of responsibility and cannot begin to express how sorry I am especially to my senior colleagues about the unfortunate events that have enfolded over the past month. 

I have accepted as my fate where I stand now in these chaotic times, putting aside my own personal anguish, but I have to confess that the burden is immense and the reality I face is brutal. 

It is my fervent hope that the New Year will quickly herald a new era of calm and order, leaving the turmoil of last year behind us. And I pledge to give every fiber of my being, with a belief that it is my calling to fully discharge my responsibilities during this transitional period. 

Distinguished colleagues,

The international community strongly acknowledges our democratic resilience and the functioning of our constitutional process in the aftermath of the recent declaration of martial law. At the same time, it is also true that there are concerns in certain quarters about the possibility of our domestic situation further descending into turmoil. 

As uncertainties in our domestic politics grow, so does the volatility of our foreign exchange and financial markets, aggravating our economic hardships.

What is more, we are facing ever-stronger headwinds from the outside as well. As the new U.S. administration prepares to take office, the international order is becoming increasingly unpredictable and a transactional approach to international relations is putting big question marks over traditional alliances and partnerships as well as the rules-based multilateral order. 

We are not alone in harboring such anxieties; other like-minded developed countries share them, too. 

And then there will unquestionably be some countries who will attempt to exploit this situation to expand their influence, intensifying strategic competition among major powers. 

While efforts to bring an expeditious resolution to the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are expected to gain traction under the new U.S. administration, the tensions in the Indo-Pacific region—on the Korean Peninsula, in the Taiwan Strait, and in the South China Sea—are unlikely to ease up. In fact, they may even get worse. 

Such unprecedented geopolitical upheavals call for, more than ever, agile diplomacy. Yet, it is at this very juncture that Korean diplomacy finds its hands tied by unparalleled domestic political polarization. 

The remarkable achievements of the Republic of Korea over the past 70 some years under liberal democracy and the market economy are invaluable diplomatic assets. 

Whatever damage the recent events may have inflicted on our global reputation, the diplomatic achievements we have painstakingly built should not be denigrated or rejected. For we cannot afford to falter or change our course when domestic and international challenges are as complex and dire as at the present moment. 

Now is the time to recall Churchill’s memorable words: “Never let a crisis go to waste.”

We must reduce swings in our foreign policy and be steadfastly consistent in our vision and our goals. At the very least, the whole nation must unite in a sense of where our foreign policy should be headed—a direction that will determine our country’s long-term trajectory. 

To this end, I fully recognize that the Foreign Ministry must hold its own, remain calm as it steers the course at the helm. 

You may feel some frustrations and desire to take us to task, but I humbly ask that you set aside your criticisms for the time being and instead lend your support and encouragement during these challenging times. 

In trying times like these, your wisdom and time-tested insights are more vital than ever. Constructive criticism is important -- but it should be grounded in objective and accurate facts. 

I cannot readily agree with claims that the government has been overly focused on values-based diplomacy during the past two and a half years, leading our foreign policy astray. 

As authoritarianism poses ever more significant challenges to liberalism and democracy, it strays from reality to view values and national interests as antithetical or as a binary choice. 

It goes without saying that we must strengthen our solidarity with democratic nations to uphold universal values and the rules-based international order -- both of which have helped the Republic of Korea come as far as it has today. 

It would be antinomical to abandon democratic values in our foreign policy – the same cherished values we have worked so hard to uphold at home over the last seventy decades or so through all the trials and tribulations. 

Flexibility is, indeed, necessary to respond with agility to geopolitical fluidity. But the core goals and vision of our diplomacy must remain unwavering. 

Amongst the many foreign policy challenges, there is no question that the most urgent one at hand is preparing for the second Trump administration which will be inaugurated in less than two weeks. 

Some believe that our status as an interim government may be hindering the establishment of direct contact with President-elect Trump and his close advisors. 

However, challenges in establishing direct contact is not unique to us, nor has the ROK-U.S. Alliance suffered as a result. 

The government has maintained communication channels with the Trump team despite the difficulties and is going all out to establish robust consultation mechanisms immediately after the new administration takes office. 

Additionally, we will not cease in our efforts to maintain the momentum of the ROK-U.S. Alliance and ROK-U.S.-Japan trilateral cooperation until the very last day of the Biden administration. Yesterday's meeting with Secretary of State Blinken aimed to demonstrate this shared commitment to audiences both at home and abroad. 

I am also aware of criticisms in some quarters that our diplomacy over the past two and a half years has strained ROK-China relations. 

I wish to remind such critics that we spearheaded resumption of Korea-Japan-China trilateral summit last May after a four-and-a-half year hiatus, which led to Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s visit to Seoul on that occasion. There have been three official meetings and frequent phone calls between myself and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. And the two countries held a summit on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Peru last November. I ask: do these achievements count for nothing? 

During the past two and a half years, the government has worked to develop a healthy relationship with China on the basis of mutual respect, reciprocity, and shared interests. In areas where we disagree, Korea has been standing up and communicating our position through candid and open dialogues. 

The positive changes we are now seeing in ROK-China relations are the fruits of these continued efforts. I believe such endeavors must be sustained over a considerable period to nurture a healthier and more mature ROK-China relationship.

The fact that the Republic of Korea and China hold the chairmanship of APEC for 2025 and 2026, respectively, augurs well. The government plans to leverage this connection wisely to foster the steady advancement of ROK-China relations.  

When it comes to Japan, this year marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations, and we aim to continue strengthening cooperative momentum by sustaining high-level exchanges. 

The untapped potential for cooperation is too great, as are our shared challenges, for the two countries to halt or stall the hard-won improvements in relations. Nor can we afford to squander the valuable opportunities this milestone anniversary presents. 

And for the remainder of my tenure, I will also make utmost efforts to further solidify a virtuous cycle between ROK-Japan relations and ROK-U.S.-Japan trilateral cooperation, which are like two interlocking cogwheels. 

As for Korea-Japan-China cooperation, whose chairmanship Japan takes over this year, we aim to generate further impetus and establish it as a major mini-lateral consultative platform in the region.

I plan to engage in wholehearted discussions on all these issues with Foreign Minister Iwaya, who will visit Korea in a matter of days. 

When it comes to addressing growing uncertainties ahead of us, I believe that we need a more holistic long-term national strategy. 

This is why the government has been making strenuous efforts to strengthen multilayered plurilateral networks with like-minded countries in the G7 and NATO, alongside the ROK-U.S. Alliance. 

Here, I stress that a stronger partnership with the G7 isn’t just about elevating Korea’s global standing. 

It’s a strategic vehicle to ensure policy alignment with the G7 nations, thereby undergirding the consistency of our foreign policy, as well as to raise our governance standards to G7 levels.  

Similarly, our sustained efforts to institutionalize cooperation with NATO is a reflection of the deepening nexus between security in the Indo-Pacific and in Europe.

Relations with Russia remain a difficult challenge. 

The “Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” signed between Russia and North Korea last June underscores how Russia-North Korean relations are deepening in ways that hark back to the Cold War era. 

Some argue that deepening Russia-North Koreas ties are the consequences of our allegedly-flawed policies towards North Korea and Russia. However, it is undeniable that their military cooperation stems from their own mutual necessity driven by the Ukraine war, rather than as a reaction to our policy

Faced with the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia – something not seen even during the Cold War -- we cannot simply go about our relations with Russia as if nothing had happened. 

The government, in collaboration with like-minded partners, will continue to urge Russia and North Korea to cease their illegal military cooperation. 

We will also seek to formulate phased and effective countermeasures, while holistically monitoring developments in the Ukraine war and in Russia-North Korea military cooperation, as well as the responses of the U.S. and NATO member states, among other factors.  

At the same time, we will keep communication channels with Russia open and manage Korea-Russia bilateral relations strategically, recognizing the immutable fact that Russia remains a key player in the present and future of the Korean Peninsula. 

Regarding North Korea and its nuclear threats, we will prepare responses and roadmaps to brace for the potential of direct U.S.-North Korea negotiations together with the U.S. administration. We will proactively advance discussions with the U.S. to address these issues.

By closely coordinating with the U.S. in advance, we aim to build consensus on the direction of a North Korea policy predicated on the objective of the complete denuclearization of North Korea. 

On the multilateral stage, we will actively work to restore our standing and credibility. 

The year 2025 is poised to be a milestone year: we will concurrently hold seats on the UN Security Council, the Human Rights Council, and the Economic and Social Council, while also chairing MIKTA, a middle-power consultative platform. 

The government will seize these opportunities to reaffirm Korea’s unwavering commitment to serving global peace and prosperity. 

Above all, we will mobilize all available resources and make thorough preparations to ensure the success of this year’s APEC Summit in Gyeongju. 

We will also make sure there are no gaps in safeguarding economic security. 

Since the U.S. presidential election, I have been taking part in weekly meetings every Monday with the Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy to meticulously prepare for the coming of the new U.S. administration. 

Going forward, we will maintain close public-private cooperation and creatively harness private sector capabilities, especially those of business, to complement the government's drives. 

As we navigate economic uncertainties following the transition of the U.S. administration, we will manage potential risks, while actively seizing opportunities to nurture forward-looking economic cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the U.S. 

In particular, we plan to put together economic cooperation packages, including in the shipbuilding sector which President-elect Trump mentioned during a recent phone conversation with President Yoon. We will thereby seek to highlight, early on, what Korea has to offer as the optimal partner for the new administration. 

Furthermore, we will reinforce economic diplomacy to minimize any negative fallout from the domestic political circumstances on business activities and foreign investments, while addressing economic security challenges like supply chain disruptions and energy crises.

As part of these efforts, I recently held a Joint Press Conference with the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs for the foreign media in this very building to communicate Korea’s efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of recent events on our economy and diplomacy.

Distinguished Colleagues,

Arthur Vandenberg, the Republican Senator who, despite his party affiliation, supported Democratic Presidents Roosevelt and Truman in World War II and forged bipartisan consensus in the early Cold War years famously said: "Politics stops at the water’s edge."

It is my sincere hope that the New Year will prompt a deep reflection amongst our political leaders so that Korea’s diplomacy can rise above partisan divisions and wisely navigate turbulent waters. 

I also hope that you, as veterans of diplomacy whom we look up to, will play a meaningful role in this endeavor. 

I have no doubt that we can overcome our current tribulations, when the passion and dedication of younger diplomats are combined with the insights and wisdom of experienced senior colleagues. 

May the New Year close the chapter on the painful memories of the last year and bring only good fortune to each and every one of you. 

Thank you for your attention. I wish you all the best in the New Year. /END/

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