The Chinese government is reportedly in the final stages of review before officially announcing Dai's appointment to the position, which has been vacant for over three months.
Beijing is expected to request agrement from Seoul as early as this week, the sources said.
If approved, Dai, 57, would fill the position left vacant since July when former Ambassador Xing Haiming departed.
A career diplomat since 1995, Dai graduated from Anhui Normal University and has served in various diplomatic posts, including in South Africa and Singapore.
Most recently, Dai has been serving as the deputy permanent representative to the U.N. since 2020.
Prior to that, he was director-general of the African Affairs Department at China's Foreign Ministry from 2017 to 2020.
The appointment follows China’s tradition of naming director-level officials to the Seoul post.
Unlike his predecessor Xing, who was fluent in Korean, Dai is not considered a Korean Peninsula specialist.
At the U.N., Dai has advocated for dialogue on North Korean issues.
In February 2023, during a U.N. Security Council meeting on North Korea’s ICBM launches, he called for all relevant parties to refrain from actions that could escalate tensions and pushed for the resumption of six-party talks.
If confirmed, Dai’s most important tasks would include preparing for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s possible visit to South Korea for the APEC summit in the southern city of Gyeongju next year.
Diplomatic observers expect China to soon process South Korea’s agrement request for Kim Dae-ki, Seoul’s ambassador-designate to Beijing, who was nominated last month.
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