On May 30, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul hosted an official welcome dinner for the participants* of the 19th Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity.

* The Jeju Forum was attended by over 250 guests, including domestic and international figures, scholars, experts, and the diplomatic corps in Korea. Notable attendees included former Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, Vice Chairperson of the Philippine House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Emigdio Tanjuatco, and Georgetown University Professor Robert Gallucci.

※ The Jeju Forum is co-hosted by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, the International Peace Foundation and the East Asia Foundation, and sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In his dinner speech, Minister Cho highlighted Korea's efforts to serve as a “hub for cooperation networks in the region” under the vision of becoming a "Global Pivotal State." He elaborated that Korea is actively embedding itself into multiple mini-lateral and regional networks both in the Indo-Pacific and elsewhere, including Korea-U.S.-Japan partnership, Korea-Japan-China trilateral cooperation, and cooperation with the G7 and NATO; is leading efforts to strengthen the rules-based order on various issues where it leverages its comparative advantage by holding high-level meetings such as the Summit for Democracy and the AI Seoul Summit; and is actively seeking to upgrade its cooperation with the Global South based on mutually beneficial partnerships, including on the occasion of the upcoming Korea-Africa Summit next week.

Minister Cho underscored that major diplomatic events hosted by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration in the first half of this year, such as the Summit for Democracy, the AI Seoul Summit and the Korea-Africa Summit, neatly encapsulate its foreign policy priorities and leading role in promoting democracy, addressing tectonic shifts, and advancing global prosperity. He concluded his speech by reiterating Korea's abiding commitment to maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and its contribution to advancing freedom, peace, and prosperity around the world through multiple networks and partnerships across various regions and domains.

During the Jeju Forum, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held various sessions on key diplomatic issues, including ▴The Role of Women for a Better World Through Women's Diplomatic Independence Movement, ▴North Korea's Policy Shift in Inter-Korean Relations and Korea's Unification Diplomacy, ▴Innovative Approaches to Advancing Climate Resilience and Adaptation, ▴Korea's Role as a Global Pivotal State from the Perspective of Foreign Journalists, and ▴Korea's Indo-Pacific Strategy: Korean and International Perspectives. The Ministry plans to actively incorporate the insights and opinions of relevant experts presented in these sessions into diplomatic policies.