A word of advice for Ambassador Harris

U.S. Ambassador Harry Harris. Korea Times

By Oh Young-jin

New U.S. Ambassador Harry Harris held his first news conference Thursday since taking the job. The former admiral invited several newspapers and broadcasters, but others were not invited.

Certainly, it was his prerogative to invite who he wished, but this approach often carries risks.

In Harris' case, it could send a wrong message not just to the uninvited media outlets but by extension their readership or audiences.

The “wrong” message is that the new ambassador is emulating his boss, President Donald Trump, picking choosing from the media so he can speak to outlets he views as favorable (in Trump's case, Fox) and lumping the rest as fake news producers (in Trump's case, CNN).

If he was following Trump's lead, then it would not be a wrong message but an intended one.

But why would the ambassador take such a risk, when, unlike his boss back home, he could use charm to foster a good relationship with the host nation and its people?

His Democratic predecessor Mark Lippert set an example in that regard, mingling well with Koreans and building a tight relationship between the two allies. In hindsight, he gained popular Korean support by which he promoted American interest, say in the opening of legal market in Korea.

As a newcomer, Harris perhaps decided to let his handlers at the embassy make the arrangements for his first meeting with the Korean media.

There is little need to argue about those who were invited, because the embassy made the selection. But if it used the criteria I suspect it did, the ambassador should call in the responsible person for an explanation.

It would have been better to consult Marc Knapper, who has served as acting ambassador, who himself took advantage of the protocols and invited a pool of reporters from the Foreign Ministry for his news conference.

Again, there is no disputing that the selection was the embassy's prerogative, but it is our prerogative to demand at least fair access to what he had to say, considering that the alliance is at a special juncture, with positive moves afoot for North Korea to end its nuclear program and to induce Pyongyang to join the global community as a responsible member.

Next time when Harris meets the media, I hope he will be more open.

This may not be the right time to mention it, but I also appreciate the sense of engagement he showed when we met at a function ― jokes about mustaches and Brazilian waxing.