South Korea's new foreign minister: ``We will firmly establish our status as a G7+ candidate country''

At his inauguration ceremony on the 12th, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol announced his aspiration to ``firmly establish economic security diplomacy and the status of a G7 plus candidate country.''
On the morning of the same day, Foreign Minister Cho said at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Seoul, ``In line with the current situation where the economic and security walls are collapsing due to competition for technological supremacy between the United States and China, we will strengthen our diplomatic capabilities that integrate economics and security.
We will build a business system and organizational culture to make this possible." He continued, ``The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' long-standing political affairs-centered thinking and business system, as well as the departments in charge of political affairs and the economy,
The vertically-segmented culture in Japan is a major factor that clouds comprehensive and strategic judgment regarding various diplomatic issues, and it is important to maintain a balance between the economy and security, and between the domestic and the international, in the process of determining the government's major foreign policies.
``In some cases, this resulted in situations in which government affairs became difficult.'' ``Officials in charge of political affairs must consider the economic implications of the work they are entrusted with, and those in charge of the economy must consider the political implications.''
emphasized. He also said, ``Keeping in mind the possibility that Japan will join the G7+ candidate countries in the near future, I will work to accumulate concrete results to realize the ``Global Central Nation Vision'' during my term in office.
We will firmly establish our position as a 7-plus candidate country." He continued, ``As we prepare for the G7+ era, the activities of the non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council starting this year will help us maintain international peace.
This is a great opportunity to make a meaningful contribution in the security field."