KOREA FOUNDATION

Following its legislative enactment in February 2016, Korea’s Public Diplomacy Law went into effect on August 4, 2016. To commemorate this landmark occasion, the National Assembly hosted a symposium event titled “The Rise of Korea’s Public Diplomacy: A New Frontier.” The symposium proceedings featured a discussion panel comprised of governmental figures as well as public diplomacy professionals from universities, media, and nongovernmental organizations, including KF President Sihyung Lee. President Lee expressed the KF’s determination to fulfill its role as the country’s lead public diplomacy agency by working in close cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure the law’s effective implementation.
  Provisions of the public diplomacy law call for the “formation of a master plan and action plan for public diplomacy” to build a comprehensive and systematic cooperative network; “establishment of a public diplomacy committee, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs as its chair”; and “active government support for nongovernmental and regional public diplomacy efforts.” In particular, the law is intended to effectively and systematically boost public diplomacy efforts across a broad spectrum that includes the efforts of the central government, regional governments, nongovernmental orgarnizations, and private individuals.