S. Korea appoints 10 new ambassadors in regular reshuffle

South Korea on Monday appointed 10 new ambassadors, including to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in a regular reshuffle, the foreign ministry said.

Kwon Hee-seog, the country's top envoy to Italy, was appointed as the new ambassador of ASEAN, while Lee Seong-ho, the deputy minister for economic affairs, will serve as the ambassador to Italy, according to the ministry.

Yun Seong-deok, the foreign policy adviser to the prime minister, was named the new deputy minister for economic affairs, and Rim Kap-soo, director general at the ministry's peninsula peace regime bureau, was appointed ambassador to Romania.

Rim will be replaced by Chun Young-hee, a deputy secretary at the office of national security, the ministry said.

The ministry also appointed new ambassadors to Belarus, Croatia, El Salvador, Oman, Portugal, Uzbekistan and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), along with new consul-generals for Los Angeles and Seattle. (Yonhap)