Joseph Yun Is Likely To Appoint 'Deputy Ambassador' To U.S. Ambassador's Position

The U.S. government is expected to appoint former U.S. State Department Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun as "Acting Ambassador" to the position of U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, which has been vacant due to the transfer of Ambassador Philip Goldberg.

As he left the country after his term, Goldberg said Joseph Yun will be appointed acting ambassador to South Korea in the coming days.

Yoon, a Korean-American, has been considered a candidate for the U.S. ambassador to South Korea for many years, concurrently serving as the U.S. State Department's chief of North Korea policy and chief negotiator for the six-party talks on resolving the North Korean nuclear issue during the Obama administration.

It is unusual for the U.S. government to appoint an ambassador to South Korea without having the vacant U.S. ambassador as an agent of the embassy as usual, and it is interpreted to give weight to the recent unstable domestic situation.

Usually, appointment of a replacement ambassador often takes several months to more than a year after the next government exercises personnel rights and even receives Senate confirmation.

Previously, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea was vacant for 16 months before ambassador Goldberg took office, and immediately before that, Ambassador Harry Harris took office after an 18-month hiatus.