Key PointsFormer South Korean defence minister Lee Jong-sup has taken up his put up as ambassador to Australia regardless of dealing with a corruption investigation in his homeland. He faces allegations that he tampered with a South Korean Marine Corps inquiry into the dying of Lance Corporal Chae Su-geun. Some within the Korean Australian group concern the appointment may very well be a ‘diplomatic burden’.
On Wednesday, round 20 Korean group members gathered in entrance of the Republic of Korea’s embassy in Canberra to protest the appointment of Lee Jong-sup as the brand new Korean ambassador to Australia.
Amongst them was Hwang Sung-joon, a former Korean marine sergeant who lives in Sydney.
Hwang stated he had by no means joined a protest earlier than, however felt compelled this time.
“I wish to ask whether it is in frequent sense and justice (for Lee) to be appointed to Canberra?” he informed SBS Korean.
Former South Korean defence minister Lee arrived in Australia final week to take up his function because the nation’s high envoy to Canberra regardless of dealing with a corruption investigation in his homeland.
Why is Lee Jong-sup underneath investigation?
South Korea’s Corruption Investigation Workplace (CIO) is continuous to look at allegations Lee tampered with a Marine Corps inquiry into the dying of Lance Corporal Chae Su-geun.
Twenty-year-old Chae died throughout a deployment in July final yr after being swept away by a torrent at a stream in Yecheon, 161 kilometres southeast of Seoul.
The army confronted accusations that correct security measures had not been taken, and the Korean authorities promised to completely examine the reason for the accident.
The marine investigation unit, which Colonel Park Jung-hun of the Marine Corps oversaw, reportedly listed eight officers underneath suspicion of negligent murder and different costs.
Final July, then defence minister Lee initially accepted the findings, however later issued an order to place off the switch of the case to the police, a transfer closely criticised by the opposition Liberal Democratic Occasion.
In January, the CIO banned Lee from leaving the nation over the allegations, however on 4 March he was appointed as the brand new ambassador to Australia.
Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles meets with Republic of Korea’s Minister of Nationwide Protection Lee Jong-sup at Parliament Home in Canberra, Thursday, August 4, 2022. Supply: AAP / MICK TSIKAS/AAPIMAGE
On 8 March, South Korea’s Justice Ministry lifted the journey ban on Lee.
South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo stated Lee’s appointment and departure wouldn’t trigger any disruptions to CIO’s judicial proceedings.
“If the anti-corruption physique says it must query him additional, Lee will come again and face questioning at any time,” The Korea Instances reported the prime minister as saying.
The CIO additionally introduced that they’d recall Lee for investigations.
Defence cooperation or ‘diplomatic burden’?
Kim Sung-young, an affiliate professor on the Macquarie Faculty of Social Science, stated the appointment of a former defence minister as the brand new ambassador to Australia was “symbolic”.
“It simply exhibits how critically the South Korean authorities is taking the Korean-Australian relationship,” Kim stated.
“I feel it is fairly vital when it comes to simply how critically Seoul is contemplating Australia and I feel policymakers in Canberra could be very welcoming of his presence.”
However Jeffrey Robertson, an affiliate professor of diplomatic research at Yonsei College in Seoul who has labored for the Australian authorities in diplomacy and overseas coverage, argued the appointment have to be understood within the context of the broader Australia-Korea relationship.
“Each Australia and Korea pay scant consideration to the connection, and regardless of keen claims on the contrary, put little or no effort into the connection,” Robertson stated.
“For South Korea’s diplomats, Australia will not be a career-enhancing put up. It is well-liked for these with younger households and it is a sop for these close to retirement. Reflecting this, if Lee Jong-sup have been being appointed due to his diplomatic expertise, it could greater than possible be elsewhere.”
Korean group members gathered in Sydney to protest the appointment of Lee Jong-sup as the brand new Korean ambassador to Australia. Credit score: Jeremy Kim
Views from the Korean Australian group
Some Korean Australians have voiced their concern over Lee’s appointment.
“We really feel indignant that they lifted a journey ban on Lee and made him depart the nation as an envoy, a vital consultant of Korea,” Pastor Hahn Moses Joonhee, who attended a rally in Canberra, stated.
“As a Korean dwelling in Australia, I really feel horrible. This may very well be a diplomatic burden between Korea and Australia,” he added.
Lee Anna* (pseudonym), who lives in Melbourne, stated, “It’s in opposition to diplomatic follow and customary sense {that a} former defence minister implicated in a corruption investigation was appointed as an envoy even earlier than the home drawback was resolved.”
Additional protests are anticipated in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
In line with the Korea Instances, South Korea’s presidential workplace has rejected allegations it unfairly interfered with the army investigation.
A spokesperson for the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Australia informed SBS Korean in a press release, “Australia is our complete strategic accomplice and a vital accomplice for the implementation of Indo-Pacific Technique.”
“Our embassy will do our greatest to proceed to develop pleasant and cooperative relations between the 2 nations.”
These sentiments have been shared by Australia’s Division of Overseas Affairs and Commerce.
When requested for remark in regards to the protests in opposition to the brand new ambassador’s appointment, a DFAT spokesperson stated, “Australia values its vital relationship with the Republic of Korea and appears ahead to working with Ambassador designate Lee in his new function.”
