List of ambassadors of Spain to South Korea

Ambassador of Spain to South Korea
Coat of arms of Spain
Incumbent Julio Herraiz España since 12 July 2025
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretariat of State for Foreign Affairs
Style	The Most Excellent
Residence	Seoul
Nominator	The Foreign Minister
Appointer	The Monarch
Term length	At the government's pleasure
Inaugural holder	Antonio Villacieros y Benito
Formation	1962
Website	Mission of Spain to Korea

The ambassador of Spain to South Korea is the official representative of the Kingdom of Spain to the Republic of Korea (South Korea). It is also accredited to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea).

South Korea and Spain established diplomatic relations in March 1950. ^[1] Initially, the affairs of the Korean Peninsula were the responsibility of the ambassador to Japan (1950–1973), who acted as minister of Spain to the president of South Korea. In 1962 the diplomatic mission was elevated to the rank of embassy and, since 1973, the ambassador has resided in Seoul. ^[2]

Jurisdiction

• South Korea: The ambassador is responsible for South Korea–Spain relations and the Embassy's Consular Section provides consular protection to the entire Korea.

The ambassador is also accredited to:

• North Korea: Prime minister José María Aznar announced the establishment of diplomatic relations with North Korea in October 2000, during the 3rd Asia–Europe Meeting, ^{[3] [4]} and it was approved by the Council of Ministers in December that year. ^[5] Bilateral relations were formally established in 2001 and the ambassador to China was accredited as ambassador to North Korea. ^[6] Since 2006, the ambassador to South Korea is dually accredited to North Korea. ^[7]

List of ministers (1950–1962)

Name	Term	Nominated by	Appointed by	Accredited to
Francisco José del Castillo y Campos [a]	14 May 1950 [8] – 15 June 1954† (4 years, 32 days)	Alberto Martín-Artajo	Francisco Franco	Syngman Rhee
Pelayo García-Olay y Álvarez [a]	30 July 1954 – 9 October 1957 (4 years, 254 days)
Antonio Villaderos y Benito [a]	17 December 1957 – 6 April 1962 (4 years, 110 days)	Fernando María Castiella

List of ambassadors (since 1962)

Name	Term	Nominated by	Appointed by	Accredited to
Antonio Villacieros y Benito [a]	6 April 1962 [9] – 10 July 1964 (2 years, 95 days)	Fernando María Castiella	Francisco Franco	Park Chung Hee
Luis García de Llera y Rodríguez  [ es ] [a]	29 May 1965 [10] – 7 February 1970 (4 years, 254 days)
Alfonso Merry del Val y Alzola [a] Marquess of Merry del Val	7 March 1970 [11] – 2 June 1973 (3 years, 87 days)	Gregorio López-Bravo
José María Aguado Saralegui	2 June 1973 [12] – 26 June 1978 (5 years, 24 days)
Luis Cuervo Fábrega	26 June 1978 [13] – 2 February 1982 (3 years, 221 days)	The Marquess of Oreja	Juan Carlos I
Ramiro Pérez-Maura  [ es ] Duke of Maura	2 February 1982 [14] – 7 November 1985 (3 years, 278 days)	José Pedro Pérez-Llorca		Chun Doo-hwan
Fermín Prieto-Castro Roumier	2 April 1986 [15] – 30 September 1991 (5 years, 181 days)	Francisco Fernández Ordóñez
Antonio Cosano Pérez  [ es ]	1 October 1991 [16] – 8 June 1994 (2 years, 250 days)			Roh Tae-woo
Carlos Alonso Zaldívar  [ es ]	27 June 1994 [17] – 26 November 1996 (2 years, 152 days)	Javier Solana		Kim Young-sam
Enrique Romeu Ramos	26 November 1996 [18] – 3 November 2001 (4 years, 342 days)	Abel Matutes
Enrique Panés Calpe	3 November 2001 [19] – 31 May 2005 (3 years, 209 days)	Josep Piqué		Kim Dae-jung
Delfín Colomé  [ es ] [b]	5 July 2005 [20] – 11 April 2008† (2 years, 281 days)	Miguel Ángel Moratinos		Roh Moo-hyun
Juan Bautista Leña Casas  [ es ] [b]	20 September 2008 [21] – 11 December 2010 (2 years, 82 days)			Lee Myung-bak
Luis Arias Romero  [ es ] [b]	8 January 2011 [22] – 2 August 2014 (3 years, 206 days)	Trinidad Jiménez
Gonzalo Ortiz Díez-Tortosa  [ es ] [b]	2 August 2014 [23] – 23 October 2018 (4 years, 82 days)	José Manuel García-Margallo	Felipe VI	Park Geun-hye
Juan Ignacio Morro  [ es ] [b]	23 October 2018 [24] – 6 July 2022 (3 years, 256 days)	Josep Borrell		Moon Jae-in
Guillermo Kirkpatrick de la Vega  [ es ] [b]	6 July 2022 [25] – 2 July 2025 (2 years, 361 days)	José Manuel Albares		Yoon Suk Yeol
Julio Herraiz España  [ es ] [b]	2 July 2025 [26] – present (126 days)			Lee Jae Myung

See also

• South Korea–Spain relations
• North Korea–Spain relations

Notes

1. Resident in Tokyo.
2. Accredited to North Korea.

References

1. Diplomatic Information Office (May 2025). "Country profile - South Korea" (PDF). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in Spanish). p. 4. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
2. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (March 26, 1973). "Decreto 510/1973, de 9 de marzo, por el que se crea, con carácter de residente, la Embajada de España en la República de Corea" [Decree 510/1973, of March 9, establishing, with resident status, the Embassy of Spain in the Republic of Korea.](PDF). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
3. "España reconocerá a Corea del Norte para contribuir a su unión con el Sur". Ultima Hora (in Spanish). October 21, 2000. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
4. Egurbide, Peru; Cembrero, Ignacio (October 21, 2000). "España se suma al bloque de países europeos que establecen relaciones con Corea del Norte". El País (in Spanish). ISSN   1134-6582 . Retrieved November 5, 2025.
5. "ESPAÑA ESTABLECE RELACIONES DIPLOMATICAS CON COREA DEL NORTE | Líder en Información Social | Servimedia". www.servimedia.es (in Spanish). December 15, 2000. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
6. EFE (February 8, 2001). "España nombra embajador en Pyongyang para 'pacificar' Corea". El País (in Spanish). ISSN   1134-6582 . Retrieved November 5, 2025.
7. Diplomatic Information Office (July 2025). "Country profile - North Korea" (PDF). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in Spanish). p. 4. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
8. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (May 14, 1950). "Decreto de 21 de abril de 1950 por la que se nombra Enviado Extraordinario y Ministro Plenipotenciario de España cerca de S.E. el Presidente de la República de Korea, a don Francisco José del Castillo y Campos" (PDF). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
9. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (April 6, 1962). "Decreto 658/1962, de 5 de abril, por el que se designa Embajador de España cerca de Su Excelencia el Presidente de la República de Corea del Sur a don Antonio Villacieros y Benito" (PDF). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
10. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (May 29, 1965). "Decreto 1301/1965, de 13 de mayo, por el que se designa Embajador de España en Seul a don Luis García de Llera y Rodríguez" (PDF). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
11. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (March 7, 1970). "Decreto 564/1970, de 6 de marzo, por el que se designa Embajador de España en Corea a don Alfonso Merry del Val y Alzola, Marqués de Merry del Val" (PDF). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
12. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (June 2, 1973). "Decreto 1040/1973, de 1 de junio, por el que se designa Embajador de España en la República de Corea a don José María Aguado Saralegui" (PDF). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
13. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (June 26, 1978). "Real Decreto 1408/1978, de 24 de junio, por el que se designa Embajador de España en la República de Corea a don Luis Cuervo Fábrega" (PDF). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
14. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (February 2, 1982). "Real Decreto 174/1982, de 1 de febrero, por el que se designa Embajador de España en la República de Corea a don Ramiro Pérez-Maura de Herrera, Duque de Maura" (PDF). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
15. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (April 2, 1986). "Real Decreto 624/1986, de 21 de marzo, por el que se designa Embajador de España en la República de Corea a don Fermín Prieto-Castro Roumier" (PDF). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
16. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (October 1, 1991). "Real Decreto 1397/1991, de 28 de septiembre, por el que se designa Embajador de España en la República de Corea a don Antonio Cosano Pérez" (PDF). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
17. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (June 27, 1994). "Real Decreto 1420/1994, de 25 de junio, por el que se designa a don Carlos Alonso Zaldívar Embajador de España en la República de Corea" (PDF). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
18. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (November 26, 1996). "Real Decreto 2421/1996, de 22 de noviembre, por el que se designa a don Enrique Romeu Ramos como Embajador de España en la República de Corea". Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
19. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (November 3, 2001). "Real Decreto 1190/2001, de 2 de noviembre, por el que se designa embajador de España en la República de Corea a don Enrique Panés Calpe". Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
20. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (July 5, 2005). "Real Decreto 807/2005, de 1 de julio, por el que se nombra Embajador de España en la República de Corea a don Delfín Colomé Pujol". Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
21. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (September 20, 2008). "Real Decreto 1561/2008, de 19 de septiembre, por el que se designa Embajador de España en la República de Corea a don Juan Bautista Leña Casas". Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
22. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (January 8, 2011). "Real Decreto 14/2011, de 7 de enero, por el que se designa Embajador de España en la República de Corea a don Luis Arias Romero". Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
23. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (November 15, 2014). "Real Decreto 963/2014, de 14 de noviembre, por el que se designa Embajador de España en la República Popular Democrática de Corea a don Gonzalo Ortiz Díez-Tortosa". Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
24. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (October 23, 2018). "Real Decreto 1317/2018, de 22 de octubre, por el que se designa Embajador de España en la República de Corea a don Juan Ignacio Morro Villacián". Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
25. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (July 6, 2022). "Real Decreto 543/2022, de 5 de julio, por el que se designa Embajador de España en la República de Corea a don Guillermo Kirkpatrick de la Vega". Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.
26. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (July 2, 2025). "Real Decreto 581/2025, de 1 de julio, por el que se designa Embajador de España en la República de Corea a don Julio Herráiz España". Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2025.