Korea's foreign ministry launches task force for organizational reform

South Korea's foreign ministry on Tuesday launched a task force to spearhead organizational reforms aimed at strengthening its overall capability and efficiency.

The task force is led by Oh Yeoung-ju, a special advisor to Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, and comprises three divisions in charge of personnel, organization and renovation, according to the ministry.

The task force will carry out an analysis of the ministry's organization and structure and collect opinions from officials and outside experts on how to address current challenges. The task force plans to unveil a reform blueprint by September.

In her inauguration speech last month, Kang underlined the need to create a workforce with more diverse backgrounds and capabilities, different from the "closed" organization dominated by a small group of elites who started their careers as diplomats and graduated from certain schools.

Kang, a former UN policy advisor, is the first female foreign minister in South Korea and also the first case in 14 years in which the ministry is headed by a person who didn't start as career diplomat. (Yonhap)