South Korea's new ambassador to Australia officially assumed his post with a greeting on the embassy's website Tuesday amid controversy over his alleged influence-peddling case related to the death of a young Marine last year.
Lee Jong-sup, who served as defense minister from 2022 to 2023, left for Australia on Sunday, two days after the justice ministry lifted his travel ban.
"Our embassy will play a role in promoting peace and stability in the region, including the denuclearization of North Korea and peace on the Korean Peninsula, and continuing the momentum for cooperation in military and defense cooperation," he wrote in Korean.
Noting Australia as a partner forged on the battlefield when it sent over 17,000 soldiers to fight during the 1950-53 Korean War, he also called Canberra a key partner in the Indo-Pacific region with shared values, such as freedom, democracy and the rule of law.
"Since the establishment of their diplomatic relations in 1961, the two countries have developed friendly and cooperative relations in various fields, including in diplomacy, military, defense, economy, culture and people-to-people exchanges, and have cooperated closely together in upholding peace, stability and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in the region," he added.
Lee has been a subject in a probe by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials in connection with the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun, who died in July last year while on a search mission amid heavy downpours.
The anti-corruption investigation office has been looking into allegations that Lee exerted influence to hold off the findings of an internal probe by the Marines on Chae's death. (Yonhap)
