1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ re-organization plan for the year 2019 -- which reflects its personnel needs, such as for the establishment of an Embassy in the Republic of Latvia and a Consulate-General in Da Nang, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam -- was passed at the Cabinet meeting on March 19. Under the plan, the Foreign Ministry will increase the number of its personnel members by 37.

2. The re-organization plan will enable the Foreign Ministry to better protect overseas Koreans and provide consular services in a way that is better tailored to the needs of the people in the era when an annual 30 million Koreans travel overseas.

° An additional 13 consular officers in charge of incidents and accidents will be assigned to 13 overseas diplomatic missions, including the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the ROK Embassy in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in order to better protect overseas Koreans. By doing so, the Ministry will bolster its foundation for more active consular assistance to Koreans.

° A Consulate-General with three members will be set up in Da Nang, Vietnam, which about 1 million Koreans visit each year, paving the way for promoting the safety as well as the rights and interests of Korean people. The Consulate-General in Da Nang is anticipated to contribute to the efforts to better serve the ROK’s national interests by enhancing the ROK’s cooperative ties with Vietnam, a pivotal partner for the New Southern Policy, one of the ROK government’s main foreign policies, and the ROK’s No. 4 trade partner.

3. In a bid to seek diplomatic diversification and to better protect overseas Koreans, the Riga Office of the ROK Embassy in Latvia will be upgraded to an Embassy (with three more staff members). The ROK Embassy in Latvia, when established, is expected to contribute greatly to efforts to better protect overseas Koreans and to bolster diplomatic relations with the Baltic states -- the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, and the Republic of Estonia. Until now, the ROK has had no diplomatic missions in the three Baltic states, which made it difficult to provide consular assistance and services.

° In addition, the Foreign Ministry will expand its personnel at the headquarters, including for handling Indian affairs, one of the significant pillars of the New Southern Policy; for handling MIKTA affairs in order to step up middle power diplomacy; and for supporting bids of Koreans to expand their presence at international organizations. By doing so, the Ministry will strengthen the foundation for a faithful implementation of the government’s main policies, including those for diplomatic diversification and job creation.

* unofficial translation