National Assembly Speaker Cho Jung-sik asked former U.S. House members to actively help resolve difficulties Korean companies face in permitting and visas as they invest in the United States. The request was aimed at creating a stable investment environment for companies and strengthening cooperation between the two countries' legislatures as economic ties deepen.
Cho met on the 16th at the National Assembly reception room with a visiting delegation of former U.S. House members, including former Rep. David Trone, and Peter Weichlein, chief executive of the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress (FMC). They discussed support for Korean investment in the United States, the development of the Korea-U.S. alliance, and ways to expand exchanges and cooperation between the two legislatures.
"Korea and the United States have a special alliance that has contributed to peace and prosperity over the past 70 years based on the values of freedom and democracy," Cho said. "Economic cooperation between the two countries is taking concrete shape, with energy projects under the U.S. investment program entering implementation in line with the Joint Fact Sheet agreed by the two leaders last year."
"Our global companies are making large-scale investments in the United States to make this investment program a success, so I hope the FMC and its members will show strong interest and support in creating a stable investment environment for Korean companies, speeding up permitting and resolving visa issues," he added.
Building a communication channel between the two legislatures also came up. "Continued development of the Korea-U.S. relationship requires a standing and systematic communication channel between the two legislatures," Cho said, introducing the National Assembly's Korea-U.S. Parliamentarians' Union, which includes 161 lawmakers from both the governing and opposition parties.
"If the U.S. Congress also had a channel for regular communication and exchange with Korea, it would greatly help exchanges between the two legislatures and the development of the bilateral relationship," he said. "I ask you to convey the need for such an organization to your former colleagues in Congress."
Trone responded that "it is important to keep developing the special relationship the two countries have maintained for more than 70 years since the Korean War," adding that "to sustain this relationship, governments and businesses must work together for the benefit of both countries."