"US in State of Insurrection... South Korea's Next Government Must Take a Bipartisan Approach"

Kim Dong-seok, KAGC CEO
"One Year of Biden Without Achievements"
"Possibility of Republican Control of Both Houses"
"Human Rights, Environment, and Health as Appropriate Korea-US Agenda"
"Convincing Opponents Is Advantageous for Korea"

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] "The United States is currently in a civil war-like state. The situation will probably worsen. The next Korean government needs an approach that fits the situation in the U.S."

Kim Dong-seok, a U.S. political expert and representative of the Korean American Voters Coalition (KAGC) (photo), explained in an interview with Asia Economy on the 17th (local time), "The Biden administration has no achievements after one year. It faced heavy criticism for the withdrawal from Afghanistan and, while trying to check China and Russia, it only ended up with the difficult Ukraine crisis." Domestic affairs also saw rising inflation, increasing public dissatisfaction.

Kim said, "Voices saying 'Trump was better' are openly emerging." There are concerns that the situation will worsen around the November midterm elections. Kim expects a high possibility that both the House and Senate will shift to the Republican Party.

If the U.S. political situation remains unstable, it will immediately affect Korea-U.S. relations. Kim emphasized that the next Korean government should choose a public diplomacy agenda toward the U.S. based on universal values.

He predicted that if the ruling and opposition parties take different stances and engage in individual plays against the U.S. government and Congress as they do now, it will be difficult to achieve results. Kim expressed relief at Lee Sang-rak, chairman of the Practical Diplomacy Committee and foreign affairs advisor to Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, saying in a Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) talk that "Korea should maintain good relations with China, but all relations must be based on the alliance with the U.S."

Kim introduced issues such as human rights, environment, and health as topics that currently resonate throughout the U.S. political scene. He said, "The Korean government should prioritize supporting agendas that contribute to a healthy American society rather than agendas that cause conflicts among Korean Americans, thereby expanding the Korean American political force." He asserted that if Koreans are divided, they cannot persuade the bipartisan U.S. political scene that is united on foreign policy.

He especially advised focusing efforts on Republican lawmakers, who are likely to take the lead in future political power, rather than the ruling Democratic Party. Kim’s argument comes from his past experience in passing the House resolution on comfort women. He said, "Pro-Korea lawmakers support Korea anyway. It is rather necessary to persuade the opposition to create a favorable situation for Korea."

Kim said that if Korea’s view of the U.S. is divided, confusion in the Korean American community is inevitable. Although four Korean American members of the U.S. House of Representatives have been elected, he diagnosed that the political influence of Korean Americans remains weak at this level. He judged that the attempt by the Korean community to look to the Korean government, and the Korean government to mobilize the community to demonstrate policy influence, is problematic.

Based on his past experience in passing the House resolution on comfort women, Kim is devoted to the movement to grant U.S. citizenship to about 20,000 Korean adoptees. Chris Smith, a prominent human rights advocate within the Republican Party, recently expressed support for the Korean adoptee citizenship resolution.

Kim explained, "The Republican Party views the adoptee issue as an immigration matter and is cautious. However, if you meet them directly and make a sincere request, they recognize that it aligns with the Republican ideology that prioritizes human rights and family."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.