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| President Yoon Suk-yeol calls cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik from his office in Yongsan District, Seoul, in this May 30 file photo. Yoon had a phone call with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Thursday. Courtesy of presidential office |
By Nam Hyun-woo
Speculation was rampant on Thursday about why President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were unable to meet during her visit to Seoul, as the two agreed to talk over the phone instead.
Some claimed Yoon might be wary of the possible impact on Korea-China relations amid Beijing's furious reaction to Pelosi's visit to Taiwan before she landed in Seoul on Wednesday.
But the presidential office denied such speculation and said the key reason was simply a scheduling conflict.
"The two sides began discussions about House Speaker Pelosi's East Asian trip about two weeks ago, and we were asked if President Yoon would be available to meet her in person," a key official at the presidential office said. "Back then, we were setting up President Yoon's vacation plan and thought he would be out of town around the time when Pelosi is in Seoul, so we had said it would be difficult, and Washington replied favorably that it fully understands the situation."
Although Yoon has been on a week-long vacation since Monday, calls have been mounting that he should have a meeting with Pelosi, the third-highest-ranking U.S. government official who has maintained close relations with South Korea.
It was Yoon who offered to make the phone call, according to the official.
The president was trying hard to find time to meet the U.S. House speaker, but her schedule in Seoul was already packed, so he offered Thursday morning to have a phone call instead, the official added.
"Pelosi welcomed it," the official said, adding that the 40-minute phone conversation was as extensive as "an official meeting."
The official also stressed that the decision not to have an in-person meeting had nothing to do with Seoul-Beijing ties, refuting the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) claim that Yoon should not criticize the previous Moon Jae-in administration's China policies as being submissive.
"If you stick to a certain perspective, you will not be able to hear what's being explained," the official said. "We decided not to meet Pelosi two weeks ago, and the Taiwan issue burst out about a week ago. It was not because of China."
The comments were targeting DPK Rep. Kim Eui-kyeom, who wrote on Facebook on Thursday that "the Yoon government should not disparage the Moon administration's China policy as being 'submissive.'"
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