hankyoreh

Kang Kyung-wha waves on the afternoon of Feb. 8 as she departs the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she served as minister for over three-and-a-half years since the launch of the Moon Jae-in administration. (Yonhap News)

Kang Kyung-wha, the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s administration and the last remaining member of his original Cabinet, has left her position after three years and eight months.

Kang finished out her service by sharing goodbyes with ministry officials on the same steps she climbed when she started 1,331 days ago as the country’s first female Foreign Minister, as well as the first who hadn’t sat for the foreign service exam.

Her farewell ceremony began on the morning of Feb. 8 with the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee’s adoption of a confirmation hearing report for Chung Eui-yong, her successor as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Emerging from her office on the 17th floor, she reportedly visited the Ministry’s different offices in turn to say goodbye, beginning on the 16th floor.

“She really did visit all of the rooms,” a ministry official said.

“There were quite a few staffers that she gave handwritten letters to,” the official added.

Some of the departments reportedly greeted Kang with messages at their office entrance reading “We love you.” While this way of saying goodbye was in part the result of the COVID-19 pandemic — which made it impossible to hold an official ceremony — it also expressed staffers’ sadness at having to say goodbye to someone who had interacted informally with them during her term.

Looking back at her service in a farewell message sent to the ministry’s entire staff that afternoon, Kang wrote, “My barometers have been dedication to the country and its people, a proud Republic of Korea in the international community, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ teamwork as it has played a leading role in establishing this.”

“Since teamwork is only possible when there is true communication, I have striven consistently with all of you to increase the depth and breadth of communication within and outside the ministry,” she added.

“I am grateful for the fruits of those efforts, and I leave here attributing any inadequacies to my own shortcomings,” she continued.

The last place that Kang stopped before leaving the ministry’s complex that day was the press room.

“As I look back on the past three years and eight months, there were many really difficult moments, but I was able to overcome a great many difficulties together with the staff, the other ministries, and the Blue House,” she recalled.

Kang Kyung-wha receives a bouquet from Vice Minister Choi Jong-kyun as she leaves the Ministry of Foreign Affairs complex on the afternoon of Feb. 8. (Yonhap News)

Indeed, Kang had to wrangle with a fairly fraught diplomatic climate from her earliest days as minister. This included the war of words between North Korea and the US, with then-President Donald Trump threatening “fire and fury” while the North Korean General Staff Department warned of reducing Guam and Seoul to a “sea of fire”; China’s retaliatory measures against US Forces Korea’s deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and the subsequent mending of ties; and the re-examination of an intergovernmental agreement with Japan on the issue of victims of sexual slavery by the Japanese military.

Kang’s signature candor attracted its share of criticism, especially in light of her lack of experience with the North Korean nuclear issue, North Korea-US relations, and “four-power” diplomacy with the US, China, Japan and Russia.

While she reportedly enjoyed Moon’s full trust, she was also plagued by claims that the ministry was being “bypassed,” with the Blue House playing a leading role in the Korean Peninsula peace process.

But many critics also contended that the backbiting comments by former senior diplomats that endlessly appeared in the media throughout her time as minister were rooted in the discriminatory attitudes of an “old boy network” toward a female Minister of Foreign Affairs hailing from a different background. Along similar lines, some diplomats have argued that if Kang’s predecessors as minister were scrutinized in terms of how well they did their job, the assessment would not be much different.

“It is quite fortunate that the Iran tanker issue [the detention of a South Korean tanker] has been resolved just before I leave. I’m especially thankful to our vice ministers, bureau directors, and consular office staff,” she said.

“With each and every issue that I handled, I was impressed at how dedicated our staff members were to serving the national interest,” she added.

Kang’s farewell message concluded by saying, “Over the past decades, I have been able to work at different workplaces in South Korea and elsewhere with colleagues of different backgrounds and capabilities.”

“Of all those experiences, these three years and eight months as the Republic of Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, and as your leader and colleague, have been the proudest and most fulfilling for me, and the memories of that will continue to touch my heart in the future,” she wrote.

Commenting on her departure, one prominent diplomat said, “There aren’t many Foreign Ministers you’re able to take pride in on an international stage. Kang Kyung-wha inspired pride not just with her excellent command of English, but with the way she conducted herself as a diplomat representing South Korea.”

Speaking of her successor Chung, Kang said, “He is a veteran among us, someone who has played a pivotal role in major policy legislation and execution, including the Korean Peninsula peace process.”

“I truly hope to see the policies we have been pursuing bear great fruit under the new minister’s leadership, and to see the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continuing to develop,” she added.

When asked about her next move, Kang said she has “nothing planned.” Sources close to her said she intended to “just rest and not do anything.”

Seeing Kang leaving the ministry with a seemingly carefree smile, one ministry official said, “Her expression says it all.”

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]