South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Friday a series of ambassadorial appointments, including the nomination of Baek Tae-woong, a law professor at the University of Hawaii, as ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Baek, a former student body president at Seoul National University, co-founded the Socialist Workers' League (Sanomeng) in the 1980s alongside poet Park No-hae and others.
He was initially sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial for his involvement in the Sanomeng case. The Supreme Court later finalized a 15-year prison term. He served time until receiving a special pardon and release in 1999.
During the last presidential election, Baek served as chairman of the Committee for Judicial Justice Based on International Standards under the Democratic Party of Korea's central election campaign committee.
The appointment of a non-economics specialist as OECD ambassador is considered unusual.
The ministry also announced other ambassadorial appointments: Cho Young-jun, Gangwon Province's ambassador for international relations, to Nicaragua; Son Hyuk-sang, dean of Kyung Hee University's Graduate School of Public Administration, to Paraguay; Lee Won-jae, a career professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, to Turkmenistan; Boo Suk-jong, former Chief of Naval Operations, to Türkiye; and Park Chul-min, former ambassador to Hungary, to Hungary.
