South Korean Leader Gets Warm Welcome From Split US Congress

Sam Kim
·4 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol rose to the presidency making the case for closer ties with the US. On Thursday, he brought his case to US lawmakers — and found a receptive audience.

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In a speech that offered a summary of ties, Yoon asked for even stronger security cooperation and highlighted deep economic connections. He drew repeated standing ovations from lawmakers in a closely divided Congress with references to “great American heroes” from 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 fortuitous time. Anti-China sentiment is running high on both sides of the aisle in the US, and South Korea is seen as an important ally as China grows more assertive.

“Korea is committed to fostering 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, picking up on one of the Biden administration’s favorite catchphrases for how governments should work with each other.

Yoon delivered remarks that were tailored to the audience, citing US investments by South Korean companies Hyundai Motor Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. after opening the speech with a Cliffs Notes version of the history of US-South Korea relations. He cited the soft-power influence of K-Pop superstar groups Blackpink and BTS, and added 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 this regard, I count on your keen interest and support.”

Read: Six Takeaways from White House Visit by South Korea’s Yoon

The speech capped a visit that lets Yoon comes home with a public-relations coup. The centerpiece was a defense agreement that will give South Korea a greater say in how America deploys its nuclear umbrella, along with assurances that it would be used to retaliate against a North Korean strike.

Yoon separately met Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss threats posed by the likes of Kim Jong Un’s regime, which has steadily rolled out new weapons designed to deliver nuclear strikes to South Korea and the US mainland.

“Going forward it is likely that, through diverse acts of provocations, North Korea will continue to put pressure on the ROK-US alliance and try to drive a wedge between our alliance,” Yoon told Austin, the Defense Department said in a statement. Yoon was referring to his country by its formal name.

But the South Korean leader was busy in other spheres too, meeting Elon Musk, offering tax breaks if the billionaire builds a Tesla auto factory there.

Yoon is hoping the US agreement will appease some lawmakers back home who have argued for South Korea to develop its own nuclear weapons. Assurances of a close US partnership may also help some of his opponents move past a US intelligence leak — allegedly by a 21-year-old American airman — that exposed some South Korean secrets.

He’s also seeking to shore up South Korea’s economy, which came close to a recession at the start of the year, as well as give a boost to his low popularity ratings.

Samsung is building a semiconductor foundry in Texas, and Hyundai plans an electric-vehicle plant in Georgia, with other conglomerates also increasing their investment as the US ramps up subsidies for companies creating jobs and setting manufacturing facilities in the country.

The speech, like the rest of the visit, glossed over points of contention. Yoon still hasn’t explicitly offered to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine. Nor did Yoon bring up concern among South Korean businesses about US demands to disclose sensitive business information in return for subsidies.

But it was also a signal that the two sides have moved past the strains of the previous administration, when former President Donald Trump demanded South Korea pay more to host US troops.

While the deterrence agreement was the most consequential moment of the visit, the most memorable may be what happened during a State Dinner held in Yoon’s honor at the White House on Wednesday night. Yoon 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 looking at the entertainment,” Biden said. “I had no damn idea you could sing.”

--With assistance from Jon Herskovitz.

(Updates with meeting between Yoon and Defense Secretary Austin.)

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