KEI Contributor

Mr. Choi Seokyoung is a retired career diplomat. Since May 2016, he has worked as a senior advisor at the Lee&Ko, a prestigious Korean law firm. He was nominated as Ambassador-at-large for Trade and Economy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2019-20). Since August 2023, he has served as an adjunct professor at SKK University. He gave lectures as a visiting professor at the Graduate Schools of International Studies (GSIS) in Seoul National University (2016-17) and Yonsei University (2019).

He served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva (2012-15). He worked as Deputy Minister for Trade cum Chief FTA Negotiator in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade(2010-2012), and as Ambassador for DDA. During this period, he successfully supervised Korea’s FTA negotiations and/or their ratification process, including those of Korea-EU FTA, Korea-US FTA, and Korea-China FTA. He served as Ambassador and Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat in 2005 followed by the Economic Minister in the Korean Embassy in Washington D.C.

He graduated from Seoul National University (BA) and from KDI School of Public Policy and Management (MA). He is the author of numerous articles in the fields of trade, environment, APEC, and the United Nations. He published two books: one in English on the open regionalism of APEC; and the other in Korean on his experience of Korea’s FTA negotiations and beyond. He is the holder of the Service Merit Medal and the Order of Service Merit (Yellow Stripes) from the Government of the Republic of Korea