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ACTION EA-14
INFO OCT-01 ISO-00 PM-07 NSC-10 SPC-03 SS-20 RSC-01 *
CIAE-00 DODE-00 INR-10 NSAE-00 PA-04 USIA-15 PRS-01
SSC-01 IO-14 AID-20 OMB-01 DRC-01 L-03 /126 W
--------------------- 113582
R 160831Z JAN 74
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 2061
C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 361
EO 11652 GDS
TAGS: PFOR, KS
SUBJECT: MOFA PERSONNEL CHANGES
SUMMARY: MOFA IS IN PROCESS OF MAJOR PERSONNEL
RESHUFFLE. END SUMMARY.
1. ROK MEDIA ARE CARRYING REPORTS OF MAJOR
PERSONNEL CHANGES IN MOFA. AT BUREAU DIRECTOR
LEVEL, O CHAE-HUI, COUNSELOR OF ROK EMBASSY IN
OSLO, HAS BEEN MADE DIRECTOR OF THE INFORMATION
AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS BUREAU, WHICH HAS PRIMARY
RESPONSIBILITY FOR EASTERN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS. HE
SUCCEEDS YI SU-U, WHO WILL GO TO HONG KONG AS
CONSUL GENERAL. SIN KI-HUM, MINISTER AT ROK
EMBASSY IN PARIS, HAS BEEN APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF
EUROPE AND AFRICAN AFFAIRS BUREAU, REPLACING KIM
CHANG-HOON,NHHO WILL BECOME MINISTER AT ROK UN
MISSION IN NEW YORK.
2. ROK PRESS HAS ALSO CARRIED SPECULATIVE REPORT
THAT VICE FONMIN YUN SUK-HEUN WILL BE APPOINTED
AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE, SUCCEEDING CHONG IL-YONG,
WHO WILL BECOME DEAN OF THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS
INSTITUTE. ACCORDING TO PRESS, NEW VICE
FONMIN WILL BE AMBASSADOR NO SIN-YONG
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(LHO SHIN-YONG), HEAD OF ROK EMBASSY IN NEW
DELHI. MOFA HAS CONFIRMED TO US IN CONFIDENCE
THAT YUN WILL BE GOING TO PARIS BUT HAS TOLD
US THAT NO'S APPOINTMENT AS VICE FONMIN IS
STILL "UP IN THE AIR".
3. FONMIN KIM DONG-JO ACTUALLY BEGAN MAJOR
RE-SHUFFLE OF HIS #,8 546 9, $3:3.?34 31 BY
NAMING KIM CHONG-TAE ASSISTANT MINISTER OFR
POLITICAL AFFAIRS AND ELEVATING KIM DONG-WHIE
TO KIM CHONG-TAE'S PREVIOUS POSITION AS
ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC
AFFAIRS, WITH YI SANG-OCK TAKING OVER AMERICAN BUREAU.
THIS ACTION IS NOW BEING FOLLOWED BY REASSIGNMENTS OF
BUREAU DIRECTORS, AMBASSADORS, AND OTHER KEY
PERSONNEL, A PROCESS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO MARCH.
4. COMMENT: MOFA RE-SHUFFLE IS EXPECTED TO
INVOLVE ULTIMATELY FAIR NUMBER OF ROK
AMBASSADORS, THE DIRECTORS OF PROTOCOL AND
ASIAN AFFAIRS BUREAUS, AND SEVERAL DIVISION CHIEFS.
PERSONNEL CHANGES BOTH WITHIN MOFA AND AT OVERSEAS
MISSIONS HAD LONG BEEN EXPECTED AND ADVENT OF NEW FONMIN
HAS PROVIDED THE OCCASION, BUT NOT THE PRIMARY REASON,
FOR MAJOR PERSONNEL SHIFTS. HOWEVER, WITH EXCEPTIONN OF FEW
SUCH AS YUN SUK-HEUN, WHO HAD SERVED AS VICE FONMIN SINCE
1969 AND WAS DUE FOR REASSIGNMENT, INDIVIDUAL
CHANGES ALSO CLEARLY REFLECT PERSONAL PREFERENCES
OF KIM DONG-JO, KIM IS MOVING QUICKLY TO BRING
IN OFFICERS TO WHOM HE IS CLOSE AND TO ASSIGN OUT
THOSE WHO ARE NOT IN HIS FAVOR.
ERICSON
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