Seoul, June 10 (IANS) South Korean Prime Minister nominee Kim Min-seok said on Tuesday that he expects to play a role in developing South Korea’s relations with the United States and Japan if appointed to the Number 2 government post.
Kim made the remark during his first meeting with reporters since President Lee Jae-myung nominated him for the prime minister’s post on the day he took office, June 4.
“I have a relatively deep understanding of the United States and have had personal relationships with key members of the Trump administration for quite a long time,” the nominee said, citing his studies at Harvard University and qualification as a licensed US attorney.
“I think that my serving as prime minister of the South Korean government will in many respects contribute in certain ways to working out South Korea-US relations,” he said.
Kim, a four-term lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party and a former top campaign aide to Lee, dismissed rumours that he is anti-American and his entry to the US has been banned due to his involvement in a 1985 student protest at the US cultural centre in Seoul, Yonhap news agency reported.
He said the protest, which was staged to demand an apology from the US for allegedly overlooking a bloody crackdown by South Korea’s then military-backed regime on anti-government protests in the southwestern city of Gwangju, was a “very important incident.”
He also said he believes the incident helped shape the US government’s response to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration in December, as it consistently expressed support for South Korea’s people and democratic systems while opposing the “military insurrection forces.”
On South Korea’s relations with Japan, the nominee stressed that he has long thought the bilateral relationship is “far more important than what the general public believes.”
In particular, he highlighted the importance of South Korea-Japan relations in finding a breakthrough for South Korea’s ailing economy and negotiating a tariff deal with Washington.
“I’ve had a wide interest in the US and especially the Trump administration, as well as Japan, China and other countries, and thought about the kind of personal relationships, diplomatic relations and foreign policies that would be right to realise South Korea’s national interest,” Kim said.
“If I become prime minister, I will work on those issues to the best of my ability.”
–IANS
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