Global Courant 2023-04-28 03:46:04
WASHINGTON — South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol rose to the presidency advocating closer ties with the United States. On Thursday, he took his case to US lawmakers — and found a receptive audience.
In a speech that offered a summary of ties, he called for even closer security cooperation and stressed deep economic ties. He received repeated standing ovations from lawmakers in a deeply divided Congress with references to “great American heroes” of the Korean War and promises of closer relations.
It was the first speech to a joint session of Congress by a South Korean leader in a decade, and it came at a serendipitous moment. Anti-Chinese sentiment is running high on both sides of the aisle in the US, and South Korea is seen as a key ally as China becomes more assertive.
“Korea is committed to promoting a ‘free, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific'” based on “inclusiveness, trust and reciprocity,” he said. “We will strengthen the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific,” he said, borrowing one of the Biden administration’s favorite slogans about how governments should cooperate with each other.
Mr Yoon made remarks tailored to the audience, citing US investment by South Korean companies Hyundai Motor and Samsung Electronics, after opening the speech with a Cliffs Notes version of the history of US relations and South Korea. He cited the soft-power influence of K-Pop superstar groups Blackpink and BTS, adding that Top Gun and The Avengers are loved by South Koreans.
“I hope to see more economic cooperation in other parts of America,” he said. “In that respect, I count on your great interest and support.”
The speech concluded a visit that saw Mr Yoon go home with a public relations coup. The centerpiece was a defense deal that will give South Korea more say in how America deploys its nuclear umbrella, along with assurances that it would be used in retaliation against a North Korean attack.
But he was also busy in other areas: he met Elon Musk and offered tax breaks if the billionaire would build a Tesla car factory there.
Mr Yoon hopes the US deal will appease some home country lawmakers who have been advocating for South Korea to develop its own nuclear weapons. Assurances of a close U.S. partnership may also help some of his opponents get past a U.S. intelligence leak — reportedly by a 21-year-old U.S. pilot — that exposed some South Korean secrets.
He is also trying to prop up the South Korean economy, which was close to recession at the beginning of the year, and boost its low popularity ratings.
Samsung is building a semiconductor foundry in Texas and Hyundai is planning an electric vehicle plant in Georgia, while other conglomerates are also stepping up investment as the US ramps up subsidies for companies that create jobs and set up manufacturing facilities in the country.
The speech, like the rest of the visit, obscured points of contention. Yoon has still not explicitly offered to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine. Nor did he voice concern among South Korean companies over US demands to release sensitive company information in exchange for subsidies.
But it was also a signal that the two sides have moved past the tensions of the previous administration, when former US President Donald Trump demanded that South Korea pay more to house US troops.
While the deterrence deal was the key moment of the visit, perhaps the most memorable is what happened at a state dinner held Wednesday night in Mr. Yoon’s honor at the White House. Then he sang a few lines from Don McLean’s American Pie and was given a guitar signed by the singer.
“The next state dinner we’re going to have, you’re watching the entertainment,” said US President Joe Biden. “I had no idea you could sing.” BLOOMBERG
