S. Korean envoy to Russia attends Putin’s inauguration

South Korea's Ambassador to Russia Lee Do-hoon on Tuesday attended the swearing-in ceremony of Russian President Vladimir Putin for his fifth term, while the United States and most European Union countries boycotted the ceremony at the Kremlin.

Lim Soo-suk, the spokesperson for Seoul's Foreign Ministry said that South Korea's decision was based on "conducting a comprehensive review of all matters" when asked about sending a government representative to the ceremony during a press briefing before the Kremlin ceremony.

South Korea's decision to send Lee was made in consideration of the necessity to manage the relationship between South Korea and Russia, as the two countries have various pending issues, The Korea Herald learned from conversations with sources.

One specific rationale behind the decision was to fulfill the government's duty to safeguard the rights of South Korean citizens living in Russia, as well as businesses operating there.

Bilateral ties between Seoul and Moscow have deteriorated amid the prolonged war in Ukraine. Russia has designated South Korea as an "unfriendly" country due to Seoul's participation in international sanctions against Moscow over the war.

Yury Ushakov, the Russian presidential foreign policy aide, said that all heads of foreign diplomatic missions in Moscow had been invited to attend Putin's inauguration, according to the Interfax news agency on Monday.

Lee's attendance contrasted with the decisions by the US, the United Kingdom, Canada, and most European Union countries, who chose not to send any representatives to the Kremlin ceremony for Putin's next six-year term.

Seoul's choice to send its top envoy to the ceremony, boycotted by its major allies, was made as part of the Yoon Suk Yeol government's diplomatic approach towards Russia.

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul reiterated during an annual conference of chiefs of overseas diplomatic missions in April that South Korea "aims to manage the Korea-Russia relationship strategically to the best of its ability, despite inherent constraints due to the war in Ukraine."

Cho emphasized that the government is committed to ensuring the protection of Korean businesses and overseas Koreans in Russia from undue harm while implementing the policy towards Russia.