Presidential Office bureau chief named Taiwan's new South Korea envoy

Taipei, May 13 (CNA) George Chiou (丘高偉), one of the bureau chiefs at the Presidential Office, has been named Taiwan's new representative to South Korea, according to a presidential order released on Tuesday.

Chiou, director of the Third Bureau at the Presidential Office, will replace Liang Kuang-chung (梁光中) as the head of the Taipei Mission in Korea, Taiwan's de facto embassy in the East Asian country due to the lack of official diplomatic ties.

Chiou, who holds a master's degree in diplomacy from Taipei-based National Chengchi University, previously served as Taiwan's ambassador to the Caribbean ally Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis from 2015 to 2018.

The Presidential Order did not specify when Chiou will take up the post in Seoul.

Liang has served as Taiwan's top envoy to South Korea since July 2022. He was previously the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA) legal department and has held diplomatic posts in Boston, Vietnam and Bahrain.

After leaving Seoul, Liang is expected to return to Taipei to serve at MOFA's headquarters, according to an unnamed source.