Lawmakers Flying to US Conventions
By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter
A group of 18th-term National Assembly lawmakers are traveling to Denver, Colorado, and St. Paul, Minnesota, to attend U.S. political party conventions and meet with prominent U.S. political figures.
From the governing Grand National Party, several key Assembly members, including Park Jin, Cho Yun-seon and Lee Byong-suk are attending the U.S. Democratic Party's national convention, which is being held in Denver from August 24 to 28. The progressive U.S. Democratic Party will formally name Senator Barack Obama as its presidential candidate during the five-day event.
Also attending the convention are Korean lawmakers from the main opposition Democratic Party (DP). Up to 10 DP lawmakers are flying to Denver to attend the event. They include senior DP member An Jeong-hee as well as Chun Byong-hyun.
When the U.S. Democratic Party wraps up its national gathering, the conservative, U.S. Republican Party will have its convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, beginning September 1, and lasting four days.
Some six lawmakers from the governing Grand National Party are slated to attend the event. These lawmakers are making arrangements to meet with officials from the current Republican Party administration to informally discuss a number of issues of mutual concern, including the pending Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and the Korea-U.S. alliance.
``Korean lawmakers have been extended invitations from both U.S. political parties to attend their respective national conventions," Yonhap News Service quoted a National Assembly official as saying.
``These U.S. national conventions will attract all major, influential lawmakers and political figures in the United States," according to the official. ``It would be a good networking opportunity for Korean officials and lawmakers, to help address various Korea-U.S. bilateral issues and get a chance to exchange views."
Korean lawmakers are also planning to meet with various Korea policy experts and academics attending these national events.
These lawmakers are not the only Assembly members traveling overseas this week. Lee Yun-seung, the National Assembly's vice speaker, left for a round of ``energy diplomacy" on August 21. He will meet with senior government officials in several resource-rich countries in the Central Asian and Middle Eastern regions before returning this week.