| U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo during her visit to the Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday. Joint Press Corps |
By Nam Hyun-woo
A huge question has arisen in Korea as U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Seoul as part of her high-profile Asia trip: did the Yoon administration handle the reception of the high-ranking U.S. official appropriately?
Pelosi arrived in Seoul on Wednesday night from Taiwan for a two-day visit, during which she met her counterpart, National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo, and visited the Panmunjom Joint Security Area standing between the two Koreas.
Her visit to Korea became the subject of heated debate here, just as her previous stop in Taiwan did ― though for slightly different reasons ― due to the possible impact on Seoul's relations with Beijing of her bold efforts to show her support of democracy in Taiwan and stand up against China's autocracy.
The South Korean government was cautious of Pelosi's visit. President Yoon Suk-yeol has already showed a hard tilt toward Washington in the face of the intensifying U.S.-China rivalry several times, triggering temperamental responses from Beijing.
Neither the Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor the National Assembly sent a South Korean delegation to welcome Speaker Pelosi when she arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek. Broadcaster TV Chosun and other media reported that Pelosi was “very displeased” that no one from the Korean side was there to greet her, citing an unnamed official at the U.S. embassy here.
While the Assembly said it had consulted with the U.S. prior to her visit and decided not to hold a welcoming ceremony, the foreign ministry placed the blame on the Assembly for being in charge of ceremonies to welcome foreign dignitaries.
| U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is welcomed by U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg and Gen. Paul LaCamera, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, after arriving at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Wednesday. Yonhap |
The presidential office was also indecisive about a potential Yoon-Pelosi meeting. The presidential office initially announced on Wednesday that Yoon would not meet Pelosi due to the president is being on vacation. Hours later the presidential office sent a text message to reporters, letting them know that it was scheduling a meeting, but then flip-flopped on its announcement, stating that there had been no discussions about such a meeting.
Though Yoon had a phone call with Pelosi on Thursday evening, debate has become heated over whether it was appropriate for Yoon to skip a meeting with the U.S. house speaker, the third-highest official in the U.S. government, with both ruling and opposition lawmakers scrambling over the issue.
Ruling People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Ha Tae-keung wrote on Facebook Thursday that “the National Assembly speaker should apologize to Pelosi for the diplomatic discourtesy” of sending no delegation to Pelosi's arrival, adding that President Yoon was supposed to meet the house speaker as her visit to Seoul and her moves in Taiwan are separate matters.
Ironically, main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) interim chief Woo Sang-ho said Yoon made the right decision, saying that “if Yoon was trying to prevent Seoul from getting mired in the U.S.-China rivalry too deep, the decision should not be criticized.”
On the other hand, DPK floor leader Park Hong-keun slammed Yoon, describing the president's decision as “humiliating diplomacy.”
U.S. Speaker Pelosi and National Assembly Speaker Kim announced parliamentary cooperation in expanding the South Korea-U.S. alliance. However, this decision failed to gain as much attention as it should have because Seoul's domestic political circles focused the debate on Yoon's decisions around Pelosi's visit.
During a press briefing, Thursday, Choi Young-bum, the senior presidential secretary for public relations, also focused on explaining that there was no diplomatic glitch in Yoon's decision not to meet Pelosi, saying “the two sides had enough consultations.”
“There is no right or wrong over this issue,” said Nam Sung-wook, a professor in Korea University's Department of Unification and Diplomacy. “While pros and cons are being bashed around over the meeting, it is difficult to say Yoon should or shouldn't have met Pelosi.”