South Korean delegation meets with USCI specialists

On February 9, 2015, the USC U.S.-China Institute hosted a delegation from the Republic of Korea. The group, invited to the U.S. by the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, is visiting leading American think tanks to explore U.S. foreign policy priorities in the Asia-Pacific, discuss the role of the U.S. in Korea and East Asia, and to focus on the U.S.-China relationship and its implications for South Korea.

The delegation included three chiefs of staff to member of the Korean National Assembly. Choi Won-Yong is associated with the Saenuri Party, while Kim Myoung-Kee and Kim Sang-Ho serve representatives from the New Politics Alliance for Democracy. The Saenuri Party currently holds 158 of the 300 seats in the National Assembly. The NPAD holds 130 seats. The delegation also included Lee Min-Kyung, chief of staff for the Saenuri Party’s Chung Ui-Hwa, speaker of the National Assembly. Lee is deputy spokesperson for the assembly. The final member of the delegation was Rhee Ho-Chan, a reporter for Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. USC participants in the discussion included Tom Hollihan (Communication Studies), Stan Rosen (political science), and Clayton Dube.

Much of the discussion focused on Chinese perspectives on American policies and policies and on the complex relations among the countries of Northeast Asia. Polling data, media content analysis, consumption patterns, social trends, school textbooks, and governmental pronouncements were all brought into the discussion.