Park Jin CBE[1] (Korean박진; born 16 September 1956) is a South Korean diplomat and politician. He is a four-term member of the National Assembly and served as the 40th Foreign Minister.

Park Jin
박진
Park in 2023
40th Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
12 May 2022 – 10 January 2024
PresidentYoon Suk Yeol
Prime MinisterHan Duck-soo
Preceded byChung Eui-yong
Succeeded byCho Tae-yul
Member of the National Assembly
In office
30 May 2020 – 29 May 2024
Preceded byJeon Hyun-hee
Succeeded byPark Soo-min
ConstituencyGangnam B
In office
9 August 2002 – 29 May 2012
Preceded byRoh Moo-hyun
Chung In-bong
Succeeded byChung Sye-kyun
ConstituencyJongno
Personal details
Born (1956-09-16) 16 September 1956 (age 68)
Seoul, South Korea
Political partyPeople Power Party
Alma materSeoul National University (LLB)
Harvard University (MPA)
University of Oxford (DPhil)
New York University (LLM)
Military service
Allegiance South Korea
Branch/service Republic of Korea Navy
Years of service1980–1983
Rank Lieutenant JG (Korean: Jungwi)
Korean name
Hangul
박진
Hanja
朴振
Revised RomanizationBak Jin
McCune–ReischauerPak Chin

As foreign minister, Park presided over South Korea's controversial support for Israel and Azerbaijan during the Israel–Hamas War and 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno–Karabakh respectively, as both countries were accused of genocide and ethnic cleansing.[2]

Biography

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Minister Park met Dutch foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra.

Park passed the 11th Foreign Affairs Examination in 1977 and served as a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (South Korea) Officer in 1978. From 1980 to 1983, he served as a naval officer through a course of naval cadets. He was selected for the seventh term of state-funded international studies in 1983 and earned a master's degree in public administration at Harvard Kennedy School in 1985 and a Ph.D. in political science at Oxford University in 1993.

Since 1993, he has served as an overseas press secretary and political secretary at the presidential secretariat of the Kim Young-sam administration. Since 2002, he has served as the 16th and 17th lawmakers of Jongno-gu, Seoul, and served as the chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee, taking the lead in ratifying the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement and passing the North Korean Human Rights Act.

In 2008, he visited the U.S. as the head of the Korea-U.S. Congressional Diplomatic Association and met Joe Biden, then chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In 2020, he moved to Gangnam-gu B, Seoul, and was elected to the 21st National Assembly (South Korea). In May 2022, he was appointed Foreign Minister of the Yoon Suk-yeol government.

Career

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References

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  1. ^ "JIN PARK". Wilson Center. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  2. ^ ㈜플랜아이. [전문가오피니언] 이스라엘-하마스 전쟁에 대한 서방의 반응과 한국에의 함의. EMERiCs 신흥지역정보 종합지식포탈 (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-09-09.
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National Assembly of the Republic of Korea
Preceded by
Roh Moo-hyun
Chung In-bong
Member of the National Assembly
from Jongno, Seoul

2002–2012
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the National Assembly
from Gangnam B, Seoul

2020–present
Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
2022–2024
Succeeded by