Foreign Minister Forced to Resign Over “Independent Diplomacy” Controversy

President Roh Moo-hyun abruptly dismissed Minister Yoon Young-kwan of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) from the post on January 15, following anti-president remarks by MOFAT officials. Earlier that day, Yoon submitted his resignation after he was notified of his dismissal.

“If opposition is raised to or if attempts are made to stop the decision that I have already made, that amounts to disobedience,” President Roh said in a luncheon with economy desk chiefs of newspapers, giving a hint at Yoon’s dismissal. “I warned [him] of the disobedience and initially attempted to fire the officials who made the remarks,” he continued. “I decided to wait and see as Minister Yoon said he would resolve the incident. However, things blew out of proportion.”

What disobedience Roh appears to have meant by refers to Yoon’s persistent attempt to persuade the president to admit U.S. demands as fully as possible for the sake of the country’s relations with the U.S. over the size of a Korean military contingent to Iraq even after Roh put the size at 3,000 military personnel.

“Some MOFAT officials have failed to break with [U.S.]-dependent policy practices and did not fully understand the spirit and direction of the new government’s independent diplomatic policy,” Jeong Chan-yong. Roh’s personnel affairs adviser said. He added, “They have repeatedly made inappropriate comments on private as well as official occasions, running counter to national interests.”

“I have emphasized the importance of the Korea-U.S. alliance because it is a very useful tool for peaceful relations between North and South Korea,” said Yoon in a farewell speech. He continued, criticizing the independent diplomatic line of the presidential office and the pro-president Uri Party head-on, “Some legislator referred to this as knee-jerking. However, kowtowing to the U.S. must be distinguished from utilizing the U.S. as a diplomatic asset.”

“Independence or alliance, or, internationalism or nationalism is an incorrect dichotomy,” said Yoon. “Under my leadership in the past year and with your help, independent diplomacy has been accomplished side by side with internationalization.”

Commenting on Yoon’s dismissal, Hong Sa-duk, the general secretary of the Grand National Party (GNP) said, “Now Korea-U.S. relations will be dominated by anti-U.S. cliques including Yi Jong-seok, the assistant general security of the National Security Council (NSC).”

“This is the massacre at the MOFAT, led by the NSC, the epicenter of President Roh’s biased diplomacy,” GNP spokesman Park Jin said in a statement. “The president must be responsible for the aftershock it will cause in Korea-U.S. relations.”

Jeong-Hun Kim Young-Sik Kim jnghn@donga.com spear@donga.com