Cho Tae-yul (; born 10 November 1955) is a South Korean diplomat who has been serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 9 January 2024.

Education

Cho graduated from

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university's main c ...

in 1979 with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree. In 1983, Cho completed the Foreign Service Programme at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Career

Cho joined the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

in 1979, where he served in the overseas missions in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

until the 1990s. Cho served as the South Korean ambassador to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in 2008 and South Korean Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2016 to 2019. He served as the Second Vice Foreign Minister from 2013 to 2016 during the

Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 until Impeachment of Park Geun-hye, she was removed from office in 2017. Park was the first and to date only woman ...

government. He had also served as the chairman of the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

Dispute Committee and, the chairman of the Geneva Government Procurement Committee.

Foreign Minister

On 19 December 2023, President

Yoon Suk Yeol Yoon Suk Yeol (; born 18 December 1960) is a South Korean politician and former prosecutor who served as the 13th president of South Korea from 2022 until Impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol, he was removed from office in 2025. The shortest-serving ...

appointed Cho Tae-yul as the nominee for

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

to succeed Minister

Park Jin Park Jin (; born 16 September 1956) is a South Korean diplomat and politician. He is a four-term member of the National Assembly (South Korea), National Assembly and served as the 40th Foreign Minister. As foreign minister, Park presided over ...

, who decided to run in

2024 South Korean legislative election Legislative elections were held in South Korea on 10 April 2024. All 300 members of the National Assembly (South Korea), National Assembly were elected, 254 from first-past-the-post South Korean Legislature Constituencies, constituencies and 46 ...

. The presidential office said that his diplomatic insight and experience will greatly contribute to resolving various diplomatic issues facing the country. Cho and Chinese Foreign Minister

Wang Yi Wang Yi ( zh, s=王毅, p=Wáng Yì; born 19 October 1953) is a Chinese diplomat and politician who has been serving as Director of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission Office since January 2023, and ...

held a telephone conversation in February 2024 to discuss issues of mutual interest, including a wide range of aspects of bilateral relations, such as high-level exchanges and supply chain cooperation. In September 2024, he said at the General Debate of the 79th UN General Assembly that amid conflicts including Russia's war in Ukraine and

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, skepticism about the role of the fragmented the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and other multilateral mechanisms has deepened. He also cited the AI Seoul Summit as an example, saying that South Korea would play the role of a facilitator, supporter, and initiator of global peace for new norms and governance. On 10 April 2025, Cho visited Damascus and met with Syrian Foreign Minister

Asaad al-Shaibani Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani () is a Syrian politician who serves as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in the Syrian transitional government since 21 December 2024 following the fall of the Assad regime. Early life and education Al-Sha ...

. During the meeting, both sides signed a formal agreement to establish

diplomatic relations Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of state, intergovernmental, or non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern Diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

, which included plans to open embassies and exchange diplomatic missions. The agreement made Syria the last United Nations member state, outside of North Korea, to establish diplomatic relations with South Korea.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cho, Tae-yul 1955 births People from North Gyeongsang Province Seoul National University School of Law alumni South Korean diplomats Ambassadors of South Korea to Spain Permanent representatives of South Korea to the United Nations Ministers of foreign affairs of South Korea Living people

Education

Career

Foreign Minister

See also

References