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By Yi Whan-woo
The delayed appointment of ambassadors to the United States, China, Japan and Russia are deepening worries about whether South Korea can have in-depth dialogues with the four countries over security issues.
The war of words between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea this week heightened tensions in the region and raised a need to bolster cooperation with the four countries, all of which have deep ties to the Korean Peninsula.
Some diplomatic sources said Lee Tae-sik, former South Korean Ambassador to Washington under the Roh Moo-hyun government, may be tapped for the job again.
Lee joins a list of diplomats and scholars who were touted as candidates.
The government customarily chooses ambassadors to China and Japan after the ambassador to the U.S. is decided, and therefore choosing the top envoy to Washington promptly is critical.
Moon nominated former lawmaker Noh Young-min as the ambassador to China but is still undecided about whom to send to Japan and Russia.
"It will take at least one more week before the nominees for the ambassadorships are finalized," a Cheong Wa Dae official said. "There are multiple candidates and we are screening them thoroughly."
Given this climate, critics said Friday the current ambassadors appointed under the Park Geun-hye government must be having trouble in having candid dialogues with relevant officials in the countries they serve.
"This is because those ambassadors do not share the principles of state policy with the Moon administration and can no longer be viewed as appropriate dialogue partners," said Im Tobin, a public administration professor at Seoul National University.
A retired diplomat, who asked not to be named, urged the Moon government to appoint the new ambassadors quickly, saying "What we need is face-to-face dialogue, not phone calls."
In its counterargument over Seoul's diplomatic isolation, Cheong Wa Dae referred to phone calls between Moon and Trump as well as between their top security advisers _ Chung Eui-yong and H.R. McMaster _ over North Korea's nuclear threats.
"There is a clear difference between an ambassador talking about the latest issues with relevant officials face-to-face and heads of states discussing those issues over the phone," the retired diplomat said.
Kim Yeol-su, an international politics professor at Sungshin Women's University, downplayed some presidential officials' claims the ambassadors appointed under the Park government would remain faithful to their jobs and that there is no diplomatic vacuum.
"Those ambassadors do not fully understand the Moon government's policy. Moreover, they inevitably will have difficulty in maintaining consistency in their work as it is a matter of time before they are replaced."
