[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 28, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E270]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           A TRIBUTE TO HIS EXCELLENCY AMBASSADOR HAN DUK-SOO

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 28, 2012

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer thanks and respect to His 
Excellency Han Duk-soo, who is departing Washington after three years 
as Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States.
   Before his appointment in March 2009, Ambassador Han had served as 
his country's Prime Minister. The fact that President Lee Myung-bak 
chose a man of such distinguished credentials to be his country's 
Ambassador to Washington demonstrates the high regard with which he 
holds the longstanding friendship of South Korea and the United States.
   In addition to his service as Prime Minister and Ambassador to the 
United States, Ambassador Han has also been Deputy Prime Minister, 
Minister of Finance and Economy, Ambassador to the OECD, and a senior 
diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
   The three years of Ambassador Han's tenure in Washington have been 
marked by great success and achievement in strengthening the U.S.-Korea 
alliance.
   Last October, at the invitation of this body, President Lee 
addressed a joint meeting of the House and Senate. It was emblematic of 
not only the importance of our bilateral alliance, but a reflection of 
Ambassador Han's diligence and the many friends he has cultivated on 
Capitol Hill.
   Mr. Speaker, nearly six decades have come and gone since the 
armistice that ended the Korean War, and the United States and the 
Republic of Korea remain partners dedicated to peace, freedom, 
democracy, and global stability. Our two countries' soldiers have 
fought side by side not only in Korea but also in Vietnam, Afghanistan, 
and Iraq.
   In recent years, the Korean government has sponsored visits by 
American veterans to the place where they served and fought. Many 
Korean War veterans are getting up in years. There will not be many 
opportunities for them to revisit the battlefields of sixty years ago. 
The Korean people are most generous, and most gracious, in making these 
trips possible.
   Ambassador Han has made a point of visiting with groups of Korean 
War veterans as he travels the United States. His personal expressions 
of gratitude have been touching, and most appreciated.
   The friendship of the United States and Korea goes well beyond a 
military alliance, and well beyond our shared past on the battlefield.
   Our countries are major trading partners. Our students study in each 
other's universities. We share numerous cultural exchanges. Ambassador 
Han has done much in his time here to strengthen and deepen the 
longstanding relationship between the United States and Korea. He will 
be sorely missed.
   Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to 
Ambassador Han Duk-soo, wishing him well in his future endeavors as the 
Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association. I thank him for 
his service and most especially his friendship.

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