As a former ambassador of New Zealand to South Korea, Turner analyzes geopolitical and diplomatic issues for KOREA PRO.

Philip Turner has split his working life equally between business and government, with a special focus on North Asia.

Turner began as a diplomat for New Zealand, serving in Tokyo and Brussels as well as Wellington. He moved to the private sector in 1999 and spent 18 years in various senior leadership roles with New Zealand’s largest company, Fonterra Cooperative Group, in Shanghai, Tokyo, Brussels and Auckland, including as President of Fonterra China.

He returned to the government in 2018 to take up the role of New Zealand’s Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and to the Democratic People`s Republic of Korea (North Korea).

He completed his diplomatic role in Seoul in early 2023 and is now based in Tokyo with his partner, where he is engaged in writing media commentary, consulting and studying for a PhD at Waseda University. He holds a Master of Arts with First Class honors in history from the University of Auckland. He is fluent in Japanese and French and speaks some Korean, Mandarin and Spanish.

Read Philip Turner’s latest articles here.