Taiwan's new envoy will arrive in South Korea
next week, its mission in Seoul said Wednesday.
Benjamin Ying-Ping Liang will arrive on Monday to take office as the fifth head of the Taipei Mission in Korea since the office opened in 1994,
two years after the two sides cut off diplomatic relations in 1992.
South Korea also has a similar mission in Taipei.
Liang, a 59-year-old career diplomat, joined the foreign ministry in 1979, with his previous posts abroad including New York, Australia and
Vietnam, according to a press release posted on the mission's Web site.
In Seoul, the new envoy plans to seek a free trade deal between the two sides and a direct flight route between Seoul's Gimpo and Taipei's SonShan aiports, the statement said.
South Korea is Taiwan's fifth-largest trade partner, while Taiwan is South Korea's ninth largest, with their two-way trade volume amounting to US$19 billion last year.