The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday appointed new ambassadors to 20 countries including Spain, Indonesia, Austria, Denmark and Poland.

Park Hee-kwon, ambassador to Peru and former deputy representative at the mission to the U.N., was named for Spain, while spokesman Cho Tai-young will be stationed in Indonesia.

Song Young-wan, consul-general in Seattle who has expertise in disarmament and multilateral affairs, was picked as ambassador to Austria, home to the International Atomic Energy Agency and other various international organizations.

Ma Young-sam, ambassador for public diplomacy and former ambassador to Israel, will serve in Denmark.

Hong Ji-in, president of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security at the ministry-affiliated Korea National Diplomatic Academy and former consul general in Toronto, was tapped as ambassador to Poland.

Other new envoys include Choe Yong-jin, deputy representative in Taipei (to Nepal); Oh Han-gu, ambassador to Angola (Dominican Republic); Kim Ki-nam, chief of combat readiness inspection at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (East Timor); Park Hyo-sung, deputy representative in Geneva (Romania); Yu Joon-ha, minister-counselor in Bahrain (Bahrain); Lee Kyong-yul, director general for international cooperation at the Ministry of Health and Welfare and former consul general in Poland (Angola); Park Jong-dae, minister-counselor in Uganda (Uganda); Yoo Han-jun, standing commissioner of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Central Land Tribunal Committee (Uruguay); Cho Jung-won, consul-general in Fukuoka (Iraq); Kwon Yong-kyu, embassy minister in Britain (Zimbabwe); Choi Dong-gyou, director-general for free trade agreement policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Kenya); Shin Boo-nam, ambassador for climate change (Kuwait); Jang Keun-ho, director general for Latin American and Caribbean affairs (Peru); Yu Ji-eun, a professor at the KNDA and former ambassador to Guatemala (Chile); and Chang Won-sam, embassy minister in Beijing and former director general for Northeast Asian affairs (Sri Lanka).

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)