The government established the post of consul general...

The government established the post of consul general or consul at all its smaller overseas missions to further strengthen consular affairs.
The decision was made in the wake of the government's "diplomatic blunder" in connection with China's execution of a South Korean drug trafficker on 25 September.
Officials at the South Korean embassy in China and the Shenyang consular office failed to follow judicial steps to influence or at least accurately monitor the sentencing of the executed and three accomplices arrested by Chinese authorities.
Previously, the post of consul general at overseas missions with five or fewer officials was assumed by the ambassadors. At overseas missions with fewer than four officials, officials of the ministry's second rank acted as consuls.
Foreign Minister Han Seung-soo sent all 124 overseas missions a letter instructing them to put their consular affairs in order.