Hanwha chief likely to attend Trump's inauguration

By Park Jae-hyuk

Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn will probably attend Donald Trump’s inauguration which will take place Jan. 20, 2017, in Washington D.C., an official of the group said Sunday.

The official said that Kim has been recommended by the Heritage Foundation, a Washington D.C.-based conservative think tank, to be invited to the inauguration.

Kim will most likely attend the ceremony, if the U.S. sends an invitation to Hanwha.

Edwin Feulner, a diplomatic advisor on Trump’s transition team and a co-founder of the Heritage Foundation, reportedly suggested inviting the chairman.

As Kim has been friends with Feulner for more than a decade, the chairman has received media attention since Trump’s victory, as few figures in Korea have connections to the soon-to-be U.S. President.

“Our group has continued to interact with officials of the U.S. Republican Party, as well as the Heritage Foundation,” the Hanwha official said.

When Kim was invited by Senator Mitch McConnell of the Republican Party to attend the inauguration of George W. Bush in 2001, the chairman suggested establishing the Korea-U.S. Exchange Council, during a banquet hosted by the Heritage Foundation, to deepen the U.S. legislative body’s understanding of Korea.

Kim worked on the exchange council with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Ambassador to Korea Richard Walker and a Heritage founder Feulner as members of the board of directors.

Feulner resigned from the Heritage Foundation in 2013 and has worked as the chairman of the Asian Studies Center since then. His concentration is on the economy and security of Asian countries, including Korea.

During his visit to Korea in October, Feulner met Kim to discuss the U.S. government’s policies on new and renewable energies and ways for Hanwha and other renewable energy companies to expand their presence in the global market.

The two talked about the political situation among Northeast Asian countries as well during Feulner’s visit here in February.

In 2011, the Heritage Foundation named a conference center on the second floor of its Pennsylvania Avenue Building the “Kim Seung-youn Conference Center” to thank the chairman for his contribution to bilateral non-governmental diplomacy.

“Hanwha will continue the non-governmental diplomacy, regardless of whether the chairman attends the inauguration,” the Hanwha official said. “We will do our best to contribute to Korea’s development, in terms of national defense and diplomacy, as well as the national economy.”

Founded in 1952, Hanwha Group owns subsidiaries in manufacturing, construction, chemicals, energy, finance, investment, services, leisure, security and defense.