Lee Jae-myung's Government Decides to Dispatch Special Envoy Delegation to China Led by Former National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok

The Lee Jae-myung government has decided to dispatch a special envoy delegation, led by former National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok, to China from the 24th to the 25th.

The dispatch of this special envoy delegation coincides with President Lee Jae-myung’s consecutive visits to Japan and the United States, during which he will hold Korea-Japan and Korea-U.S. summits. This is interpreted as a diplomatic gesture from the Lee Jae-myung government, which advocates for 'practical diplomacy,' to accommodate China.

On the 16th, News1 reported through multiple sources that the special envoy delegation, led by former Speaker Park, is set to visit China on the 24th.

It is known that Democratic Party lawmaker Park Jeong and East Asia Cultural Center Chairman Noh Jae-hun will also be part of the delegation.

Former Speaker Park Byeong-seok is considered a prominent 'China expert' in the political arena, having served as a six-term lawmaker and the speaker of the National Assembly during the 21st assembly.

He visited China in 2017 as the head of the government delegation for the Belt and Road Cooperation Forum and had a meeting with President Xi Jinping. He also attended the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, where he had a one-on-one meeting with Li Zhanshu, the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress at the time.

A Strategic Choice to Improve Korea-China Relations and Strengthen High-level Communication

Included in the special envoy is Congressman Park Jeong, who has served as a visiting professor at Wuhan University and Xi’an Jiao Tong University, making him well-versed in Chinese affairs.

Chairman Noh Jae-hun is the son of former President Roh Tae-woo and is known for his deep understanding of China through his business activities related to the country.

Especially, taking into account that diplomatic relations between Korea and China were established during Roh Tae-woo’s presidency in 1992, a friendly atmosphere has been fostered in China.

Past governments have traditionally dispatched special envoy delegations centered around the four major countries: the United States, China, Japan, and Russia. However, with President Lee Jae-myung's confirmed visits to the U.S. and Japan, the dispatch of delegations to the U.S. and Japan has been shelved.

Instead, it appears that the decision to send a special envoy to China is aimed at continuing high-level communication while considering the restoration and improvement of Korea-China relations and the importance of issues like President Xi Jinping’s visit to Korea in conjunction with the APEC summit.

This special envoy’s visit will occur around the anniversary of Korea-China diplomatic relations (August 22), coinciding with President Lee Jae-myung’s visits to Japan (23-24) and the U.S. (24-26).

This can be seen as part of a balanced diplomacy effort to maintain relations with China while strengthening Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation during the President's visits to Japan and the U.S.

As the schedule for the special envoy's visit to China is confirmed, interest is also gathering on whether a meeting with President Xi Jinping will be achieved.

Recently, Liu Jinrong, the Director General of the Asian Affairs Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met with Kim Han-kyu, the acting ambassador of South Korea to China, to discuss issues between the two countries, including the dispatch of South Korea's special envoy.

Meanwhile, the previous Yoon Seok-yeol administration did not send a special envoy delegation to China. During the Moon Jae-in administration, former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan visited China as a special envoy and had a meeting with President Xi Jinping.

Image credits: President Lee Jae-myung / News1, Former Speaker Park Byeong-seok / News1, Chinese President Xi Jinping / gettyimagekorea