British Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Colin James Crooks / Courtesy of British Embassy Seoul

British Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Colin Crooks has decided not to participate in next week's Global Korea Forum, citing concerns over the lack of gender diversity among the invited speakers, all of whom were men, the embassy said Wednesday.

The annual forum has been hosted by the Ministry of Unification since 2010, and this year's installment is slated to be held on Tuesday under the theme "Unified Korean Peninsula for Freedom, Peace and Prosperity."

While the forum aims to provide a platform to discuss international security and unification policies of the Korean Peninsula, among others, the annual event's invited 18 speakers were all men.

With the embassy's withdrawal from the speaker list, the event organizer added two more men and one woman to take the stand, resulting in 20 men and one woman in terms of gender distribution.

The embassy announced its decision not to participate in the Global Korea Forum 2024, saying that it believes panel events that represent gender diversity can lead to a richer exchange of ideas.

"The ambassador is unable to take part in the Global Korea Forum next week. The British Embassy is committed to gender equality. We believe that events are enriched by the diversity of perspectives of those participating," the spokesperson of the British Embassy told The Korea Times on Wednesday, confirming the ambassador's withdrawal from the event.

The ambassador has been stationed in Seoul since his appointment in 2022.

Known as a leading expert on the Korean Peninsula, he has extensive experience, having served as an ambassador in both South and North Korea.

Before his current role, he was the ambassador to North Korea from 2018 to 2021. Additionally, he worked at the British Embassy in Seoul between 1995 and 1999. His studies in the Korean language during the 1990s have given him fluency, allowing him to deliver most of his speeches in Korean.

British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks speaks during a session at the Korea Times Forum in Seoul, June 5. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

On many occasions, the ambassador has been very vocal about promoting diversity, including gender equality and minority issues.

The embassy made an offer to participate as a panelist at the forum hosted by The Korea Times in June, which was held under the banner of "Toward diversity, inclusiveness and equality."

During the event, Crooks emphasized that women's participation in the public sector is imperative for developing inclusive government policies, calling for male allyship in achieving gender equality.