South Korea will not send a government delegation to the inauguration of Taiwanese President-elect Lai Ching-te early next week, a foreign ministry official said Thursday.
Whether Seoul would dispatch a delegation to Lai’s inauguration, set for Monday, had been a focus of attention as China has strongly opposed any moves that appear to recognize the island, which it considers to be part of its own, as an independent state.
“There is no plan for attendance by a government delegation. As far as I am aware, our representative to the South Korean mission in Taipei will attend,” the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
“It has been customary that the representative to the mission in Taipei attends the inauguration,” the official said.
Representative Lee Eun-ho is serving as the top South Korean envoy to Taipei.
The official’s comments came after Rep. Cho Kyoung-tae of the ruling People Power Party said he will attend the swearing-in ceremony at the invitation of the Taiwanese government, with th
e possibility of a few other fellow lawmakers joining Cho on the visit.
South Korea had made the same decision for the inauguration of then President-elect Tsai Ing-wen in 2016.
The decision has been largely seen as Seoul taking into account the importance of managing the ties with Beijing.
South Korea cut off official diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1992, when it established diplomatic relations with China.
In 1993, South Korea opened a mission in Taipei to maintain bilateral relations unofficially and continue cooperation in a substantive way.
Source: Yonhap News Agency