AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH ROK PRESIDENT LEE MYUNG-BAK (이명박, 스티븐스, 무기판매, 한미관계, FTA, 북한)

제목: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH ROK PRESIDENT LEE MYUNG-BAK (이명박, 스티븐스, 무기판매, 한미관계, FTA, 북한)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 001957

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2018

TAGS: PGOV PREL KS KN

SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH ROK PRESIDENT LEE MYUNG-BAK

Classified By: Ambassador Stephens. Reasons 1.4 (b/d)

¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In a thirty-minute meeting immediately upon

concluding the presentation of credentials ceremony,

President Lee warmly welcomed the Ambassador, telling her

that she was in a position to bring Americans and Koreans

even closer together. Lee said that he took pride in

restoring trust in the U.S.-ROK relations. Even during the

beef crisis, he was careful in sticking to his commitments

made to the President, despite the demand from some quarters

to take the "easy way out." Lee was delighted with recent

progress in several fronts, including Korea's entry into the

Visa Waiver Program, establishing the WEST program and

Congressional passage of the legislation to upgrade South

Korea's Foreign Military Sales (FMS). President Lee looked

forward to ratifying the KORUS FTA, which, he said, could

pass the Korean National Assembly "anytime," because his was

the majority party. President Lee also raised the issue of

the New Embassy Complex (NEC)and said he wanted to see rapid

progress on a project, which, he reminded everyone, was a

project he undertook when he was mayor of Seoul.

¶2. (C) The Ambassador said she was delighted to be Seoul and

appreciated the warm reception she was receiving. South

Korea had changed enormously, but she still heard from

Koreans a traditional warm personal welcome as well a desire

to have good U.S.-Korean relations. Conveying President

Bush's appreciation for President Lee's efforts to strengthen

U.S-ROK relations, the Ambassador said that she looked

forward to the challenge of taking this relationship a step

further. Agreeing with Lee on the importance of the FTA, the

Ambassador said that President Bush also wanted to see the

agreement ratified as soon as possible. The Ambassador noted

that Washington and Seoul had a number of challenging issues

ahead, including how to deal with North Korea. The key to

making progress on these issues was to consult closely and

work together, the Ambassador said. DCM, POL M/C, and DATT

accompanied the Ambassador. President Lee was accompanied by

FM Yu and NSA Kim. END SUMMARY.

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U.S.-ROK Relations: "Restoring Trust"

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¶3. (C) After a short Blue House ceremony to present her

credentials, President Lee invited the Ambassador to the

Audience Room. Lee said that all Koreans welcomed the

Ambassador. She had struck a chord among Koreans for her

service in the Peace Corps during Korea's very difficult days

and her obvious command of Korean language and culture. The

Ambassador had come to Korea at the "right time." She would

find plenty of challenges, but she would also discover that

Koreans approached their relations with the United States

with "confidence and optimism." Lee considered the United

States to be the bedrock of Korean foreign and security

policy, as did the vast majority of South Koreans. His

efforts were now placed on restoring the trust.

¶4. (C) Even during the beef crisis earlier this year, Lee

continued, he never once thought about reneging on his

commitment to resume U.S. beef imports. That would have been

easy, but completely contrary to his promise to President

Bush, and also a major setback for South Korea's

international standing. Emphasizing that support for the

United States remained deep and broad, Lee noted that about

30,000 South Koreans had come out to welcome President Bush

to Seoul in August.

¶5. (C) The Ambassador said that President Bush was very

appreciative of the warm welcome he had received from

President Lee and the Korean public. She also could see that

there was a strong desire among Koreans to see our

relationship move forward. There were plenty of challenges

ahead, including ratifying the FTA, those posed by North

Korean, implementing the Yongsan relocation and other plans,

and opportunities such as the VWP and WEST programs. To make

progress, Seoul and Washington had to work even more closely

together, the Ambassador emphasized.

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KORUS FTA

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¶6. (C) President Lee said that he had hoped that the U.S.

Congress could ratify the FTA during a "lame duck" session

this fall. However, this might not be easy given the U.S.

electoral calendar. The Korean National Assembly was

prepared to ratify the agreement "anytime." His own party,

the (conservative) Grand National Party, had an outright

majority. Moreover, the opposition Democratic Party also

should support the agreement, because the FTA negotiations

were concluded under their administration. This agreement

benefited both countries. Lee hoped that the U.S. Congress

would act decisively, as it had done the previous week with

the financial rescue bill. American leadership was needed

now more than ever on these global economic and financial

issues, Lee said.

¶7. (C) The Ambassador assured President Lee that the

President and the Administration remained deeply committed to

the KORUS FTA. On her part, the Ambassador said, she would

stay in close touch with Washington ) and with legislators

in Seoul -- with an eye to moving forward to ratification at

an opportune time.

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FMS, VWP, WEST

--------------

¶8. (C) The Ambassador said that she was encouraged by

developments on several fronts. In Washington, the

legislation to upgrade South Korea's military procurement

status had passed both houses. The measure now goes to the

President who was expected to sign it into law. With this

change, foreign military sales with Korea would be treated

most favorably, just as those with NATO, Australia, New

Zealand and Japan. Progress on South Korea's entry into the

Visa Waiver Program had also moved forward substantially over

the past several weeks. The Ambassador hoped that South

Koreans could make visa-free visits to the United States as

soon as early January. Similarly, the MOU for the WEST

(Work, English Study, and Travel) program was signed by the

Secretary and FM Yu in New York two weeks ago; this program

would allow young Koreans to study and work in the U.S.

¶9. (C) President Lee thanked the Ambassador for the FMS

upgrade, which, he said, was a very positive development. On

the VWP and WEST, Lee commented that these were exactly the

kind of programs the Korean people wanted. Making these

programs a reality would enhance enormously the Korean

public's perception of the United States. Lee estimated that

the VWP could double Korean visitors to the United States.

The WEST program would allow young Koreans to truly

experience America, which could only be good for the U.S.-ROK

alliance.

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North Korea

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¶10. (C) President Lee said that there were plenty of

challenges too. Among them were North Korea's progress

toward denuclearization and what to do about its deplorable

record on human rights. President Lee said that he knew that

Senator Brownback was deeply concerned about North Korean

human rights, which became an issue during the Ambassador's

confirmation. Lee himself had been outspoken on this issue,

unlike his predecessor. Agreeing, the Ambassador noted that

President Lee had spoken eloquently about North Korean human

rights, remarks which had been highly appreciated in

Washington and elsewhere in the United States. The

Ambassador said she had held several discussions with Senator

Brownback, emphasizing the opportunity to work closely with

President Lee and his administration to find the most

effective way to improve North Korean human rights. On the

Six Party Talks, the Ambassador said that A/S Hill consulted

closely with his ROKG counterparts upon his return from

Pyongyang last week and was now back in Washington to brief

Secretary Rice. There were no simple solutions to these

challenges; the only way to make progress was for Washington

and Seoul to work in unison, the Ambassador again emphasized.

---

NEC

---

¶11. (C) President raised the need for a New Embassy Complex

by saying that "this must be done soon." Camp Coiner, Lee

observed, was a great location because all of Seoul was

moving south. Yongsan would be the center of Seoul soon.

The Ambassador said she had never imagined she would be back

as Ambassador at the same Embassy building where she took the

Foreign Service exam in 1975. The site we had identified at

Yongsan was indeed a good location; we were all happy with

it. However, we had missed previous opportunities, and this

time, we must make irreversible progress--and quickly.

President Lee turned to FM Yu and urged him to be as helpful

as possible. The Ambassador closed the meeting by thanking

President Lee for his recognition of Peace Corps/Korea and

his help in making a reunion possible for the former Peace

Corps Volunteers. Like her, many former Volunteers were

thrilled to see so much progress in such a short time.

President Lee said the Volunteers should be very proud of

their contribution in making modern Korea.

STEPHENS

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