Ambassador Speeches

The United States and Korea: A History of Achievement and a Future of Promise Remarks by Ambassador Christopher R. Hill Korean American Association

Hyatt Hotel, Seoul, Republic of Korea
September 22, 2004

Thank you very much, Chairman Koo, for that very kind introduction. Thank you all for coming out here so early. I think of all of America's bad export ideas, the 7:30 breakfast may be one of our worst. So, thank you all for coming here. I am truly very honored to speak before you today and am especially happy that my first public speech in Korea is before the Korean American Association. This is the oldest and largest organization dedicated to supporting the friendship between our two countries. I truly appreciate everything the people in this room do to strengthen the Korean-American relationship.

Well, I've been here for about six weeks and I must tell you that I am very humbled by the responsibility that's been passed to me here. We've really had 50 years of spectacularly successful management of truly one of the world's most important bilateral relationships. I think many American ambassadors have come before me and I'm sure many will certainly follow. I am deeply moved to be a part of this and I look to figuring out what I can to contribute and strengthen this very important historic bond.

I think many of you know that I was in Korea before. But, I am the first to acknowledge that it was a long, long time ago. So ago, in fact, that when I was here the American Embassy on Sejong-ro was considered one of Seoul's most modern and impressive buildings. Well, that's changed. Korea has certainly changed a lot in the years since I was last here and it will continue to change in the years ahead. I've been fortunate to return to Korea at a time of important change in our countries' relationship. Change is never an easy process and this change is really no exception. I think many of the assumptions of the last 50 years, or I should say the first 50 years, of Korean-American relations are being reconsidered. Despite this difficulty, I am confident that these changes, the changes that are undergoing at this time, will bring the United States and Korea even closer together.

During these 50 years of our alliance, our close ties have kept the peace on this peninsula and have been an enduring and vital asset to both our countries. Our relationship, which was originally forged in a tragedy, has evolved to include not only security cooperation but also a flourishing economic partnership and strong ties between our two peoples. Koreans are today looking beyond their shores and developing a global perspective in this country.

Today our relationship must keep pace with a rapidly changing world. The international system is a very different place than what it was when the alliance began. We deal today with failed states, rogue regimes, transnational criminals, terrorist networks while the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons also threaten global peace and security. The community of democratic nations must find new ways of meeting these emerging threats.

As the world has changed, so too has the United States. We've also had the pain of terrorist attacks. We've seen the destruction of embassies in East Africa and, of course, the unprecedented tragedy of September 11. But, while these events have shocked and saddened the American people, they've also strengthened our resolve. We are ready to exercise the leadership required in these difficult times, and of course we need strong partners such as the Republic of Korea.

Korea itself has changed. During the 50 years of our alliance, Koreans have, of course, built a vibrant economic powerhouse. I think that the Korean people have also built an open and dynamic democracy, a source of envy to many countries in the world. In some respects it was even a more difficult task than the economic task. Last week my wife and I had the opportunity to visit the National May 18th Cemetery in Gwangju. We went to honor the memory of those people and to really recall the great pain that they and all the Korean people went through on the road to democracy. It was, I must say, a very moving, a very personal event for me. I'd like to mention now, though, a few of the challenges that I think we very much have ahead of us. Let me start with our security relationship, because without security you really can't do much else.

We are working together to modernize our military arrangements in the Future of the Alliance Initiative (FOTA). We are seeking to make U.S. forces in Korea more effective while we lessen the burdens on local communities. We will relocate all U.S. forces out of Seoul and consolidate our military facilities into a more sustainable and effective presence. The process of giving land back to the Korean people has already begun, and it shall continue.

But, while we reduce the number of U.S. forces in Korea, we are also making those forces more effective. We will spend some $11 billion over the next four years to equip our forces with the best technologies available. We know that smaller, more mobile, more technologically advanced military forces are the right way to meet the fluid threats of the 21st century. For example, last week I visited the joint U.S.-Republic of Korea airbase in Gwangju that will soon be home to the PAC-3 Patriot missiles. These purely defensive systems, one of the most technologically advanced we have, will protect Gwangju and this airbase from ballistic missiles. Reflecting Korea's outstanding military capabilities, we've also agreed that the Republic of Korea should take on a greater role in the defense of Korea. Korean forces now patrol the Joint Security Area up on the 38th parallel and they will take on other critical missions in the future.

The U.S. and Korea both understand that diplomacy can be as important a tool as military force for ensuring stability in this region. Together with China, Russia and Japan, we are engaged in the Six-Party Talks to find a diplomatic solution to the North Korean nuclear issue. It has not and it will not be easy, but I am confident we'll succeed because we all share the goal of a nuclear free Korean Peninsula. The Six-Party Process has shown that multilateral diplomacy can be an effective way to bring us together and to address security issues. It's established a model for security consultation that I'm sure will continue into the future.

As the U.S.-Korea relationship has matured, our security cooperation has moved beyond an exclusive focus on the Korean Peninsula. Koreans understand that our world is an interconnected place, that global stability matters to Korea's global interests. Korea has worked with other members of the international community to bring stability, peace and democracy to East Timor and to work on the challenges in Afghanistan and Iraq. The deployment of Korean forces to Iraq is going well and our two militaries and our embassies, in fact, in Baghdad are cooperating very closely. Peace and democracy have benefited Korea, and Koreans are working to bring those benefits to people who have yet to experience them. I am confident that Korea will come to play an even more prominent role on the global stage because it is in Korea's interest to do so.

Our alliance is based on a very broad foundation - and this includes, of course, the economy. Long after the North Korean nuclear issue is resolved, and it will be resolved, the U.S. and Korea will be tied together as major economic partners. And the reason for this is obvious. Korea is the 11th largest economy in the world and our 7th largest trading partner. Korea is taking advantage of its central position in Northeast Asia to become the region's economic hub. For centuries, this same position for Korea was a geographic curse and now it is a geographic advantage.

Total investment by U.S. companies in Korea tops some $90 billion. The U.S remains the top foreign investor in Korea while Korean companies' fixed investments in the U.S. now total some $9 billion. Korea's Hyundai Motors has just opened a factory in Alabama, providing jobs for thousands of Americans. In the same industry, General Motors recently purchased Daewoo, Korea' second-largest automaker and is making new investments here.

Of course, on the economic front we sometimes have our differences. We have differences in areas such as telecommunications and pharmaceuticals, where in our view government regulation has sometimes gone to far. In other areas, such as protection of intellectual property rights, we believe that government regulatory enforcement actually needs to be strengthened to keep pace with the challenges of the Internet economy.

But when we do disagree, we try to resolve these differences with the kind of dialogue that characterizes relations between two advanced industrial economies with great respect for each other. The recent resolution of a dispute over WIPI telecom standards-the platform to allow Internet access using a cellular phone (my kids know more about that than I do, but anyway)-was an important step forward in this area. It shows that Korean policy makers realize the importance of a level playing field, the importance for Korea's own interests of a level playing field. The National Assembly's passage of the Korean-Chilean Free Trade Agreement shows that Korea has correctly identified the path that it needs to go in the future.

Korean-U.S. relations, in particular, are ripe for further development. Negotiations toward a U.S.-Korea Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) need to continue but they have been stalled for several years, in part because of Korea's screen quota. I think it's time to move forward on this issue. Korea has produced now some blockbuster film hits like Taegukki and Silmido, and this K-pop dominates Asia's music scene. I don't think Korea needs these kinds of market restrictions to protect its vibrant cultural industries. And I hope we can move forward on that.

And I hope because I think if we can conclude a BIT, that is a Bilateral Investment Treaty, and if we then can get on to resolving some key bilateral trade irritants, that should allow us to take us where ultimately ought to be between the United States and Korea. Our two countries should have a U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. I would very much like to see progress toward a Free Trade Agreement during my time here. Korea and the United States are natural FTA partners. An FTA would allow the complementary strengths of our two economies to flourish and would help propel our relationship still further. It's an important goal, and one we can achieve if we work together to remove the debris on the road leading to that destination. We can achieve this.

Finally, I'd like to talk about what may be the strongest bonds between our two countries, the private connections between our two peoples. We recently celebrated the 100th anniversary of Korean immigration to the United States, a process that began a full 50 years before the establishment of our military alliance. Now there are some 2 million Koreans and Korean-Americans living in the U.S.

Here in Korea, we in the embassy are looking for innovative ways to improve our dialogue and to find a better way to reach the Korean public. During my visit to Gwangju, I had the opportunity to open up a so-called American Corner, which will become, along with Busan and Daegu, it's now the third American Corner in Korea. It's an innovative way of reaching the public. We use 21st-century public diplomacy, like multi-media resources computer-based information systems, and by the way I was pleased to see a couple of books there as well. The Corner is a partnership between the Embassy and the Korean institution to provide a way to build partnerships and facilitate communication between Koreans and Americans.

We are working with Korea's new Internet media, a force in forming public opinion among Korea's young people especially, to try to get our message out accurately to Korea's youth. At the same time, we're arranging programs to enable us to listen to their thoughts and concerns so that we can learn to better understand this new generation - the future leaders of Korea. In fact, as I speak, we're working to improve the embassy Web site and to make sure that we increase its interactive capabilities.

Korea sends the third-largest number of students to the United States, surpassed only by China and India. Last year, through the State Department's International Visitor Grant Program we sent 40 outstanding Koreans to visit the U.S. These exchanges have allowed us to share ideas, and build personal relationships and better understand each other. Every year, in our Fulbright Program, dozens of recent American college graduates teach English in Korean high schools.

The travel of people between our two countries is important to all of us. Last year, our embassy here processed some 420,000 nonimmigrant visa applications, of which 95%, that is 19 out of every 20 applicants, were actually issued. But even such heroic efforts by our consular staff cannot keep pace with the demands. And that's why I personally look forward to the time when Korea can join other countries in the Visa Waiver Program. Where we can, we will do what we can to help Korea get there. We will advise on how to develop and implement a more secure passport. But some of what needs to be done is clear: we need to have a situation where fewer Koreans overstay tourist visas, and that fewer Koreans commit fraud to obtain those tourist visas. We need help from the Korean side on that point. So, when people say they are going to the States to visit Disneyland, we need for them to go to Disneyland and not go work somewhere. So, if we can get that, and we can work on these other things, we will look forward to the day when we get Korea on the Visa Waiver Program, where frankly it belongs.

Another vital factor in allowing us to serve this relationship as it expands is to acquire new facilities for our Embassy and for our families in Seoul. We are now working closely with the Korean Government on a plan to build such needed facilities. You know, I've mentioned this around town and sometimes people are surprised. "Why do you talk about this sort of thing?" I want to mention that I wear two hats in Korea. One is as the U.S. Ambassador to Korea. The other is as the Chief of Mission at the American Embassy. And I've got to take care of my people and I've got to make sure that they have facilities here that American diplomats want to come to. That they are proud to come here, proud to serve in an impressive, modern facility, like many other countries in Asia. I need to make sure that what we have here in Seoul very much reflects what the state of our relationship is. So, it is an important fact to me.

Finally, since coming to Korea, actually even before I came to Korea, I heard a lot about "anti-Americanism." But, for many people, I think the question: "Are you pro-American or anti-American?" seems to define someone's approach to these relations. I think it's really the wrong question. I think Koreans should think about what are Korea's interests and how can Korea best achieve those interests.

While Koreans should answer these questions, it's not for me to answer those questions, I am confident that in answering those questions, the logical conclusion will be that a strong relationship with the United States is part of how Korea needs to pursue its interests in the world.

It's a fact that Korea is a medium size country surrounded by much larger neighbors. In the past Korea has sought a foreign partner to help balance some of those powerful neighbors. I think the U.S. can play a role in helping Korea maneuver in this space not only in Asia but also in the future as Korea truly takes on a global interest reflecting its very dynamic economy and very important interests. I think Korea can work with the United States on the challenges of global peace and security, and it's for Korea's benefit in the world that we do this. I think this is very much symbolized in the deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, where Korea needs to be a part of the solution there because Korean interests depend on that.

As strong relationship with Korea is also very much in America's interest. We need a reliable partner in Northeast Asia, an economically dynamic region whose stability is important to the entire world. Korea is that partner. Furthermore, I think we will be better able to meet the challenges of the 21st century when we're able to work with a partner like Korea.

I know that a fair and honest consideration of the facts will show that a strong U.S.-Korea relationship is best for both our countries. I'm very much honored to participate in working on this relationship, to stand on the shoulders of many people before me and, however I can, to prepare the ground ahead for people after me. I want to make a commitment to all of you that I will always have an open door; I will always be available to people. I'll talk to you very straight, very honestly. You know, people often say, "Well, diplomats say what they don't really mean to say." Not true. I think what diplomats can do best is to be clear and honest, albeit in a pleasant tone of voice, but clear and honest and make sure there are no misunderstandings. You can count on that from me. So, thank you very much and I'm sorry that I've gone over my time. Thank you.