The designation of Rex Tillerson, Exxon Mobil CEO, as U.S. secretary of state, has sent Korea, both at the government and private level, scrambling to search for friends of Tillerson. This was the second such search in a month. So far, there are few emerging among Koreans and their allies in Washington who know him well enough.
When Donald Trump was elected as president in early November, Seoul drew a blank in its search for Trump’s friends and associates.
Trump’s election was a surprise and so was Tillerson’s designation. Both are outsiders of the Washington establishment. But it can is a must for Korea, lacking a human network, to reach leaders-to-be in the partner nation in its most important alliance, and influence their thinking about Korea-related policy during a formative period.
Our situation strikes a stark contrast to Japan, whose prime minister, Shinzo Abe, met Trump Nov. 17, a week after his Nov. 8 election as the first foreign leader to meet the U.S. president-elect.
Despite the urgent agenda of North Korea’s nuclear brinkmanship, among others, Korea settled for the visit by a delegation, led by Cho Tae-yong, deputy chief of the presidential national security office. Cho met Michael Flynn, Trump’s national security advisor.
Abe got to know Trump firsthand during his New York trip, while Cho extracted the symbolic affirmation of the two countries’ alliance. The difference could translate into a wider gap in effectiveness in the two countries’ attempt to influence Trump’s policy related to Seoul and Tokyo, once his government takes office, Jan. 20.
The Trump challenge is forcing a reset of the country’s usual way of managing its U.S. alliance. First, putting all eggs in the same basket should be avoided. It’s no secret that the government bet on the victory of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate. Even after Trump proved to be strong, the government has made few efforts to reach out to his side. This is a mistake.
Second, in order to strengthen networks in the U.S., U.S. institutes that have ties with Korea should be realigned. For instance, the Korea Society has been led by retired U.S. ambassadors to Korea. Tom Byrne, former Moody’s official, was appointed for a change and has led it since last year. But its effectiveness as a tool for a Korean lobby has yet to be evaluated. Also, the community of Korean Americans, now reaching millions in its size and advancing into mainstream society, has been underutilized, requiring the government to get more actively engaged with it.