The People Power Party (PPP) will form a delegation to the United States to attend the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Washington on Jan. 20.
According to party officials on Tuesday, the PPP will form a delegation that includes Vice President of Strategy and Planning Cho Jung-hun and senior spokesperson Kim Dai-sik, both of whom received personal invitations to the 47th U.S. presidential inauguration ceremony and dinner ball. Five-term lawmaker Kim Gi-hyeon is being considered as the leader of the delegation.
One cannot attend the inauguration and dinner ball without an invitation from the United States.
A PPP official said the Democratic Party (DP) was unable to form a separate delegation because none of its lawmakers received individual invitations.
Kim Dai-sik, who also attended the 2008 inauguration of former U.S. President Barack Obama, was invited to attend Trump’s second inauguration by Republican Sen. John Cornyn. Cho previously worked at the World Bank and has a strong network in U.S. politics.
“Through meetings with Republican Senators Cornyn and Ted Cruz, we plan to discuss in-depth economic cooperation measures between the two countries,” said Kim. “We will make this an important opportunity to further solidify the partnership between Korea and the United States and elevate Korea’s status in the international community.”
It is also expected that the ruling and opposition party members of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee will visit Washington for Trump’s inauguration. Initially, the DP’s committee members planned not to attend the inauguration after the party leadership issued an order against traveling abroad due to President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment.
DP Rep. WI Sung-lac, a former diplomat, wrote on his Facebook account on Monday that “the U.S. presidential inauguration is strictly a domestic event in the United States” and “It is not right to criticize that members of the National Assembly are neglecting diplomacy by not attending the inauguration ceremony.”
However, the DP reportedly made a sharp turnaround in its position on Monday afternoon due to the need for parliamentary diplomacy with the United States. The Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee delegation scheduled to leave the country on Jan. 18 will consist of seven members, including Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee Chairman Kim Seok-ki and three members each from the ruling and opposition parties.
“I am very glad that the ruling and opposition parties can work together on parliamentary diplomatic activities that are helpful to the national interest,” said Kim Seok-ki in a phone call with the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily. “I plan to coordinate meetings not only with Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, but also with officials from the Trump administration.”
