Washington, DC—Congratulating Lee Myung-Bak on His Election to the Presidency of the Republic of Korea:

Madame Speaker, I want to congratulate Mr. Royce on sponsoring H. Res. 947, a resolution congratulating Lee Myung-Bak on his election to the Presidency of the republic of Korea and wishing him well during on his transition and inauguration on February 25, 2008.

The United States and Korea share a longstanding and special relationship.  Our strong alliance is rooted in the common principles of freedom and democracy.   Today that relationship has blossomed into a strong economic partnership in which the Republic of Korea has become one of the United States’ major trading partners.  In my state of California, Korea is the state’s fifth largest trading partner and the Los Angeles Custom District’s third largest trading partner, with $18 billion in two-way trade annually.  

In my congressional district in Los Angles, Hollywood, and Culver City, ethnic Koreans have built a thriving business and cultural area known as Koreatown.  Many maintain close cultural, business, and family ties to their homeland.  Accordingly, it is my hope that the Republic of Korea will be fully admitted into the Visa Waiver Program in the very near future so that we may share even closer people-to-people exchanges between our two countries.

H. Res. 947 is also timely and important due to the ongoing Six-Party Talks and current attempts to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.  President-elect Lee has pledged to make the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula a priority of his Administration.   In order to achieve the goal of a nuclear free Korean Peninsula, the Republic of Korea will need the full support of the United States.  

Madame Speaker, As Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus of Korea and the U.S.-Korea Inter-Parliamentary Exchange and as a member of the House Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and Global Environment, I am committed to ensuring that the rock-solid U.S.-Korea alliance remains relevant, resilient, and enduring.

For these reasons, I again congratulate President-elect Lee on his electoral victory and am certain that I speak for all of my Congressional colleagues in wishing him the best.