June 4 - June 18, 2015
The Korea Chair team takes a biweekly look at events of interest in Washington, Seoul, and the region.
U.S.-ROK RELATIONS President Park Postpones U.S. Trip Due to MERS Outbreak On June 10, President Park Geun-hye postponed her planned June 14–17 trip to the United States due to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak in Korea. In a June 12 phone conversa- tion with President Park, President Obama offered his condolences to the MERS victims and their families. The two presidents agreed to reschedule the visit.
ROK Foreign Minister Visits the United States On June 16, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se visited Wash- ington, D.C., and met with Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman to discuss issues in the Korean peninsula and security in Northeast Asia. On June 15, Yun met with National Security Adviser Susan Rice, Commander of U.S. Pacific Command Visits ROK Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel, Special Representative for On June 9, Adm. Harry Harris, the new commander of North Korea Policy Sung Kim, Special Envoy for Six-Party Talks Syd- U.S. Pacific Command, made his first trip to South Ko- ney Seiler, and Director for Korea Allison Hooker of the National rea a er assuming the posi on on May 27, 2015. He Security Council. met President Park Geun-hye, Minister of Na onal Defense Han Minkoo, U.S. ambassador Mark Lippert, ECONOMICS AND TRADE commander of USFK Gen. Cur s Scaparro , and Lt. Bank of Korea Cuts Interest Rate to Record Low Gen. Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy. On June 10, he visited In its monthly policy meeting on June 11, the Bank of Korea cut the the ROK Navy's 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek to base interest rate by 25 basis points to a record low of 1.5 percent. pay tribute to sailors killed in the Cheonan incident. The Committee cited the effects of MERS as a contributor to its base rate decision. Photo credit: U.S. Pacific Command.
Government to Support Industries Hit by MERS Outbreak In a June 10 ministerial meeting, Finance Minister Choi Kyung- hwan declared the ministry would offer financial and tax support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struck by the MERS out- break. Support will be provided to the tourism, lodging, artistic per- formances, and hospital industries. The support package will in- volve issuing low interest loans totaling 100 billion won and rolling over the maturity of income tax returns.
FTC to Investigate Six Foreign Banks The ROK Fair Trade Commission (FTC) announced on June 17 that it had begun investigating six foreign banks’ branches to see if they had colluded to manipulate foreign exchange rates. Citigroup Inc., United States, ROK Formally Sign Civil Nuclear Energy JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Barclays Plc, UBS AG, CooperaƟon Agreement and Royal Bank of Scotland Plc will be fined if their actions have On June 15, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Energy boosted their own interests at the expense of Korean clients. There Secretary Ernest Moniz formally signed the revision to is precedent in May when U.S. and UK authorities imposed fines of the 1974 nuclear coopera on agreement. The revised $5.6 billion after finding six international banks guilty of exchange agreement was ini aled on April 22, 2015. rate manipulation. Photo credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs. KOREA CHAIR MONITOR | 2
DOMESTIC POLITICS & POLICY Nominee Confirmed as Prime Minister On June 18, Hwang Kyo-ahn was confirmed as the next ROK prime minister at the National Assembly plenary session. Hwang is cur- rently the sitting justice minister. The prime minister’s seat has been temporarily held since April 27 by Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyung-hwan.
ROK Ministry of National Defense Submits 2016 Budget Request The ROK Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced on June 17 that it has requested a 7.2 percent increase in its 2016 budget. If the budget request is approved by both the Ministry of Strategy and Foreign Minister Yun Visits Germany and CroaƟa Finance and the National Assembly, MND will have a 2016 budget On June 12, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se visited Ber- of US$35.95 billion. It plans to invest in systems such as the Kill lin, Germany to meet with his German counterpart, Chain and the Korean Air and Missile Defense systems to help bet- Frank-Walter Steinmeier. They discussed bilateral rela- ter deter the DPRK threat and to launch 32 new projects, including ons, the situa on in Northeast Asia, coopera on on long-range radars and an aerospace operations center. global issues, and the 39th session of the World Herit-
KOREA-PRC RELATIONS age Commi ee. On June 13, Minister Yun met with his ROK and PRC Navy Chiefs Meet Croa an counterpart, Vesna Pusić, in Zagreb to discuss On June 13, the chief of staff of the ROK Navy, Admiral Chung Ho- ways to enhance high-level exchanges and prac cal seop, visited China and discussed naval cooperation with his coun- coopera on. terpart, the commander of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Photo credit: Alessandro Caproni’s flickr photostream. Navy, Admiral Wu Shengli in Beijing, China.
NORTH KOREA North Korea Tests Anti-Ship Rockets and Short-Range Missiles On June 14, North Korea test fired three short-range missiles (KN- 01s) for about 26 minutes into the East Sea near the city of Wonsan. The missiles are thought to have a range of 120 kilometers. A day later, on June 15, North Korea conducted a test firing drill of anti- ship rockets. Kim Jong-un watched the drill and “expressed great satisfaction,” according to Korean Central News Agency.
U.S. Renews Visa Waiver Program for ROK State Department Report on DPRK Nuclear Facilities On June 5, the U.S. State Department published “The 2015 Report on On June 1, the U.S. government sent no ce to the ROK Adherence to and Compliance With Arms Control, Nonproliferation, government that the ROK’s status as a par cipant and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments,” which recog- country in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP) was nized the likelihood of additional unidentified nuclear facilities extended un l March 2017. First granted to the ROK in within the DPRK. This is the first official State Department docu- 2008, the VWP allows ROK na onals to visit the United ment to express an opinion about intelligence related to additional States for travel or business without a visa for 90 days. North Korean nuclear facilities. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Looking Ahead Our Friday morning preview of events to watch in the weeks ahead. June 21-22 | Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se of the ROK will visit Tokyo for the first time since assuming office in 2013 to attend a reception marking the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties.
June 21-22 | Admiral Cecil Haney, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, will visit Seoul to meet with key mili tary officials in South Korea, including Defense Minister Han Min-koo and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Choi Yun-hee.
July 19 | North Korea is scheduled to hold its first local elections since Kim Jong-un took power in 2011.
KOREA CHAIR MONITOR CSIS Office of the Korea Chair contributors: Victor Cha, Senior Adviser and Chair Marie DuMond, Research Associate Andy Lim, Research Assistant Na Young Lee, KF-CSIS Junior Researcher Gene Choi, Research Intern So “Alicia” Lee, Research Intern Katheryn Sehyen Lee, Research Intern
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Korea Chair Monitor is a biweekly publica on of the CSIS Office of the Korea Chair, available online. CSIS is a private, nonprofit ins tu on headquartered in Washington, D.C., focusing on inter- na onal public policy issues. Its research is nonpar san and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy posi ons; accordingly, all views expressed in this publica on should be understood to be solely those of the author(s).
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