He-beom Kim, who served as South Korea’s consul general for the Southeast since 2011, has returned to his home country to assume his appointment as vice minister of culture, sports and tourism.

A successor to Mr. Kim has not been named as of yet. 

“The Korean government ordered my return to Korea on very short notice, and I’m sorry not to have had time to say good-bye to all of my colleagues and friends here in Atlanta,” he said in a statement to Global Atlanta.

Mr. Kim also said that he considered the reciprocal license agreement that he was able to reach between Korea and Georgia as his accomplishment here that pleased him the most.

In addition to Georgia, he also completed similar agreements in Florida, Alabama and South Carolina, the most recent state, which reached its agreement on July 23.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed a similar agreement at Kia Motors in West Point last year.

Before coming to Atlanta, Mr. Kim had been assistant minister of the Korean Culture and Information Service as well as a diplomat to the U.K. and Canada. 

For more Global Atlanta reporting on Consul General Kim, click here and here.