Korean-American Club hosts seminar

In the next administration, South Korea should take the initiative and seek a solution to overcome North Korean issues, said Park Chan-wook, professor of politics at Seoul National University, yesterday.

“Whoever becomes the next [president], matters related to North Korea cannot depend only on China,” Park said, at a seminar hosted by the Korean-American Club on the topic “Era of New Leadership: The Future of the Korean Peninsula.”

“Instead, neighboring countries should resolve them together. And it is only right for South Korea to take the initiative and try to solve [tangled] issues.”

Park was one of four panelists invited to speak in front of the club members at the Seoul Press Center in central Seoul yesterday along with: Lee Jung-hoon, professor of international relations at Yonsei University’s Graduate School of International Studies; Yoo Ho-yul, professor of North Korean studies at Korea University; and Peter Beck, representative of the Asia Foundation.

The annual seminar was held to take the professional advice and ideas of the four panelists on how to cope with the situation “when we [South Korea] are surrounded by big powers whose new leaders now call for a strengthened military buildup,” said David Pong, chairman of the Korean-American Club.

The club’s members are mainly former senior journalists who have served in Washington as correspondents. It was inaugurated a decade ago under the liberal Roh Moo-hyun government to establish friendlier ties between the United States and South Korea.

Professor Lee also said, “This isn’t the time for Korean [politicians] to negatively attack each other.”

By Lee Eun-joo [angie@joongang.co.kr]