South Korean President Lee Jae Myung welcomed seven new ambassadors to the country on Monday, kicking off stronger diplomatic ties with key global partners. The group included Ugo Astuto from the European Union, a big step for EU-South Korea relations.
The new envoys hail from Switzerland (Nadine Olivieri Lozano), Poland (Bartosz Wisniewski), Estonia (Tanel Sepp), Canada (Philippe Lafortune), Denmark (Mikael Hemniti Winther), and Singapore (Wong Kai Jiun). During the credential ceremony in Seoul, these diplomats formally presented their papers to Lee, marking the start of their official roles.
President Lee urged the ambassadors to build bridges between their nations and South Korea. He focused on boosting cooperation in hot areas like artificial intelligence, advanced technologies, and the defense industry—fields where South Korea shines. As Seoul pushes for a bigger voice on the world stage, Lee stressed practical gains for everyday people through these partnerships, according to a presidential briefing.
The ambassadors, in turn, pledged to deepen bilateral relations. They backed South Korea’s push to reduce tensions and foster peace on the Korean Peninsula. Plus, they extended invitations for Lee to visit their countries soon, aiming to expand ties even further.
This comes amid fresh moves in South Korea’s foreign policy. Just days earlier, on September 26, the government named Lee Hyuk as its new ambassador to Japan—the first under President Lee’s administration. Lee Hyuk brings decades of experience; he joined the foreign service in 1979 and held key posts, including director general for Asian and Pacific affairs, minister at South Korea’s embassy in Japan, and ambassador to the Philippines and Vietnam.
The timing feels right, as South Korea and Japan line up a visit next week from Japan’s outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to Busan. Ishiba will meet President Lee for talks, signaling warming relations between the two neighbors.
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