U.S. 'second gentleman' coming for Yoon's inauguration

From left: U.S. Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, "Pachinko" author Min Jin Lee

The U.S. government will send Douglas Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, and Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh to Yoon Suk-yeol’s presidential inauguration next week, multiple diplomatic sources told the JoongAng Ilbo.

The sources told the paper Tuesday that Washington is sending the two figures to highlight the importance of the Korea-U.S. alliance.

No former U.S. president or high-level official directly involved in bilateral ties will be coming to the inauguration, set for next Tuesday in Seoul, due mainly to the fact that U.S. President Joe Biden will be visiting Korea later this month for a summit with Yoon.

During discussions between the two countries on who would represent Washington, concerns were raised that the presence of a former president could amount to a protocol violation for when Biden touches down in Korea the following week.

Inviting Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the ceremony was considered, but that, too, was nixed after it was confirmed he’d be accompanying Biden to Korea. The State Department’s preoccupation with the war in Ukraine was another factor in Washington’s decision not to send Blinken.

Yoon’s transition team said last week that Biden is expected to visit Korea from May 20 to 22. The summit has been scheduled for May 21, 11 days after Yoon becomes president.

At one point in talks between the two countries, some officials reportedly said there was no need to dispatch a high-level delegation from Washington at all, arguing that both sides should focus on the Yoon-Biden summit. But other officials refuted the suggestion, emphasizing the need to show that the Korea-U.S. alliance was ironclad from Day One of Yoon’s five-year term.

Emhoff is the first-ever husband of a vice president in U.S. history. He is a partner at the multinational law firm DLA Piper. In his role as second gentleman, Emhoff has vowed to work towards equal access to legal representation.

Secretary of Labor Walsh, born to Irish immigrant parents, vocally protested former U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration policy while serving as the mayor of Boston and has often expressed his intent to protect immigrant workers. Walsh has no known direct ties with Korea, but local diplomatic sources stressed Walsh would add weight to Yoon’s inauguration ceremony given that he’s a member of the Cabinet.

Aside from the delegation from Washington, diplomatic sources said Min Jin Lee, a Korean-American author of the bestseller “Pachinko” (2017), a novel that chronicles the story of a Korean immigrant family that faces discrimination in Japan, will also be attending the inauguration. An adaptation of the book on Apple TV+ was a major hit earlier this year.

BY YOO JEE-HYE, LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]