Colin Crooks is a British diplomat serving as the British Ambassador to the Republic of Korea since February 2022. Previously he served as British Ambassador to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from 2018 to 2021. Prior to serving as the Ambassador to the DPRK, Crooks served in various other positions in Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service, and was the Minister Counsellor at the British Embassy Beijing from 2015 to 2018 and the Chargé d'Affairs to the British Embassy in Pyongyang in 2008. He was posted to Seoul as a Second Secretary from 1995 to 1998 and served as a First Secretary through 1999. He speaks 6 languages including English, Korean, French, Mandarin, German and Indonesian.

Tony Clemson is the Director of Trade and Investment for Korea, based in the British Embassy, Seoul.  He leads a team of Department for Department for Business and Trade (DBT) professionals to strengthen commercial partnerships with the UK. Tony’s role is to improve the trade and investment environment wherever possible, support UK companies to access the Korean market, and to help Korean companies to invest in the UK. He previously served in China from 2016 to 2022, initially as the Deputy Consul-General in Shanghai, and later as Deputy Director for Technology & Industry in the Department for International Trade.  In prior diplomatic roles, Tony covered international cyber security policy in London, and political and economic issues in South Korea and New Zealand. Before his Diplomatic Service, Tony served eight years as a Warfare Officer in the Royal Navy, deploying to the Atlantic, Caribbean and Middle East.

Nora Hamdi is currently the Political Secretary in the British Embassy, responsible for the domestic political brief in the team. In London, she previously served on the Caribbean and US desks, and also took part in numerous deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. She has recently completed full time language training, and advises on Embassy engagement with the Korean political sphere.

Chotaro is one of the most experienced senior business development executives at Scottish Development International (SDI), based in Tokyo. He graduated with a master’s degree in international business from the University of Stirling in Scotland. Upon returning to Japan, he joined SDI, leading initiatives to attract major corporations to the Asia-Pacific region. He successfully secured significant investments from Japanese companies for large-scale factory projects. Chotaro is currently on a short-term assignment in Seoul, continuing to expand inward investment opportunities for Scotland.

Jonathan Woodland is Head of Climate Diplomacy at the British Embassy Seoul.  He was responsible for coordinating the UKGovernment’s diplomatic engagement in the Republic of Korea, up to and in the aftermath of COP26. Jonathan began his career with the UK Ministry of Justice in 2009 and has held various roles with the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office. He is a historian by training and graduate of the University of York and King’s College London.