Senior diplomat Gourangalal Das has been named India’s next Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Wednesday.
A 1999-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service, Das currently serves as Joint Secretary in the ministry and is expected to assume charge in Seoul soon.
The Indian Embassy in Seoul also confirmed the appointment on X. At present, Amit Kumar is holding the position of India’s envoy in South Korea until the transition takes place.
Das has served in various diplomatic roles, including postings in Beijing and Washington, as well as a stint in the office of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
An alumnus of St. Stephen’s College and Delhi School of Economics, he graduated and completed his Master’s in Economics before joining the IFS.
Originally from Assam, Das was a state topper in the 1991 HSLC examinations from Barpeta Government HS School.
The announcement comes soon after South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun’s visit to New Delhi earlier this month, during which he held talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
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Cho, who served as South Korea’s Ambassador to India between 2015 and 2017, spoke warmly of his return, noting India’s transformation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and recalling past interactions with Jaishankar.
India and South Korea have enjoyed steadily growing ties since establishing diplomatic relations in 1973.
The relationship, upgraded to a “Strategic Partnership” in 2010 and to a “Special Strategic Partnership” in 2015, marked its 50th anniversary in 2023 with a series of commemorative events.
