This photo shows the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building on the left. Newsis

By Kang Seung-woo

The foreign and industry ministries are engaged in a tug of war over which institution will have the authority to promote trade under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is seeking to recover its original responsibility over trade matters, while the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is arguing for trade authority on the basis of its recent successes in the field.

When Korea's first presidential administration was launched in 1948, trade affairs were initially under the jurisdiction of the foreign ministry, which was renamed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1998 during the Kim Dae-jung administration.

In 2013, the Park Geun-hye administration transferred the trade functions to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, which was reorganized as the current Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. President Moon Jae-in tried to return authority over trade affairs to the foreign ministry in 2017, but the effort fell through.