Over the past few months, the Foreign Ministry has been living through an unparalleled crisis. 

At home, summit diplomacy has been at a standstill since the parliament impeached President Park Geun-hye on Dec. 9, stripping her of her presidential powers and putting her political fate in the hands of the Constitutional Court. Fresh allegations have continued to surface by the day that her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil meddled in the selection of ambassadors and the chief of a state grant aid agency, all of whom held no relevant experience, seeking to pocket government funds from a multimillion dollar aid project.

Beyond the border, North Korea is inching closer to becoming a nuclear state, threatening to fire a ballistic missile capable of striking the US mainland. Yet the swearing-in of US President Donald Trump also stoked doubts over the future of the two countries’ 64-year alliance, while China is escalating its economic retaliation against Seoul’s decision to station advanced US missile defense assets. After a brief respite, historical tension is simmering again with Tokyo after civic groups raised a statue for wartime sex slaves in front of the Japanese consulate in Busan. 

Then former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s now-foiled presidential ambition tore the ministry apart.
Young, working-level diplomats were aghast at some of their retired and even incumbent seniors rallying behind the former foreign minister. Some senior officials rushed to New York to “help Ban return home,” while others churned out videos, photos and memos via Facebook and Kakao Talk in an overwhelming, worshipping-like fashion, extoling the secretary-general’s legacy and personal character. One official, who worked with Ban and is now nearing retirement, had initially given up an ambassadorial position due to his daughter’s US citizenship, which disqualifies him for the job. With Ban’s ratings soaring, together with his own chances to serve the next administration, he recently changed his mind and persuaded his daughter, who is married and lives in New York, to abandon her citizenship. Rather disenchanted with the “Ban syndrome,” meanwhile, a group of working-level diplomats had initiated a signature-collecting campaign against his presidential run, though never materialized. 

While most day-to-day operations remain business as usual, the drawn-out leadership vacuum is complicating the ministry’s efforts to find a way out on key flashpoints. Such issues as the US missile shield deployment and sex slavery rows require top-level political determinations based on well-thought-out strategies. Yet they have been so divisive in nature, as much as the views of leading presidential candidates, the ministry is struggling to provide an answer. And this is precisely why other countries are ratcheting up their offensive -- to sway the public sentiment here, and in turn the next government’s policy, to their advantage.  

Despite political uncertainties, the ministry should focus on crafting various scenarios in detail and laying the groundwork for future policy changes for the time being. The next leadership may well be tempted to do a sweeping about-face in some core initiatives such as the December 2015 settlement on the sex slavery dispute with Japan, given persistent public resistance and an interest in ditching Park’s legacy. 

On the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system, Seoul needs to leave room to maneuver, instead of scurrying to complete its deployment before the election. As former Foreign Minister Song Min-soon argues, South Korea should devise a negotiation process to address the THAAD and North Korean nuclear issues altogether. “We should primarily have China take a greater role and responsibility in resolving the nuclear issue, and adjust the THAAD stationing schedule with the US,” Song, who is president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said at a seminar late Tuesday.

Fundamentally, the ongoing public and diplomatic furor is rooted in the absence of shrewd, meticulous plans and sincere convincing efforts. But as with any change, it may be extensive and controversial. However, a backlash can be offset by painstaking efforts to restore trust with not only neighbors, but the people at home, which should begin now, against all odds.

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