Symposium On Public Diplomacy Held To Mark The Entry Into Forc[e of the public diplomacy act]

Press release, Symposium On Public Diplomacy Held To Mark The Entry Into Forc[e of the public diplomacy act]," Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea

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1. A special symposium took place took place in the National Assembly building on August 3 to mark the entry into force of the public diplomacy act on August 4. It was co-hosted by the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee and the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA) with the support of the Foreign Ministry, and brought together people from various sectors, including members of the National Assembly, Foreign Ministry officials and experts from the academic, media and civilian groups.

2. At the opening ceremony of the symposium, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se delivered congratulatory remarks, in which he spoke of the plan to mainly implement 'public diplomacy together with people'; creative public diplomacy using abundant attractive assets; and policy-oriented public diplomacy to create a friendly strategic environment.

3. Chancellor Yun Duk-min of the KNDA, a co-host of the event, noted that the entry into force of the public diplomacy act will serve as a significant momentum for laying the institutional groundwork, underscoring the importance of strategically conducting public diplomacy with continued interest.

4. The morning session featured a briefing on the Foreign Ministry's public diplomacy plan in the wake of the relevant act's entry into force, followed by robust discussions by a panel, comprised of those from the academic, media and civilian groups, on ways to set up a private-public cooperative network pursuant to the public diplomacy act and its enforcement ordinance, as well as a specific direction of public diplomacy.

5. The participants noted with appreciation that with the entry into force of the public diplomacy act, the legal and institutional groundwork has been laid for an all-out implementation of public diplomacy. They also drew a common understanding that infrastructure for public diplomacy should be expanded to the level of other member states of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

6. The symposium is seen to have served as an opportunity for the experts from various sectors to engage in candid discussions on various and specific ways to take the Republic of Korea's public diplomacy a notch higher. The actors in public diplomacy that will strategically implement it, including the government, the National Assembly, media, academia and civilian groups, are expected to work more closely with one another.

* unofficial translation