[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 153 (Monday, September 25, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   IN RECOGNITION OF KANG KYUNG-WHA, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF 
                           REPUBLIC OF KOREA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 25, 2017

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay 
tribute to Kang Kyung-wha, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the 
Republic of Korea. Foreign Minister Kang has dedicated her career to 
the protection and promotion of humanitarian principles domestically 
and around the world. On September 22, 2017, she will be honored at the 
United Nations by Equality Now, a non-governmental organization 
advocating for the human rights of women and girls worldwide, for her 
work on behalf of women and girls and in recognition of her appointment 
as the first female Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea.
   Kang Kyung-wha is a veteran diplomat, serving both the Republic of 
Korea and the United Nations. After beginning her career as a news 
producer and associate professor, Minister Kang began working in the 
National Assembly, serving as the Secretary for International Relations 
in the Office of the Speaker in 1990. Her work was focused on the 
promotion of human rights, women's advancement, and parliamentary 
diplomacy. After 8 years with the National Assembly, she began working 
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the agency she now leads.
   In 2005, Minister Kang was appointed Director General of 
International Organizations at the foreign ministry, becoming the 
second female diplomat to serve at that level. She was the Minister in 
her country's Permanent Mission to the United Nations from September 
2001 to July 2005, during which time she chaired the Commission on the 
Status of Women for its 48th and 49th sessions. In 2006, she was 
appointed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to serve as United Nations 
Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, the highest appointment in 
an international organization for a Korean woman. In April 2013 
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed her Assistant Secretary-General 
for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator for 
the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 
In this position, Minister Kang oversaw the UN agency responsible for 
their response to complex emergencies and natural disasters, the 
coordination of humanitarian response, policy development and advocacy. 
During her tenure, she navigated many of the most substantial crises in 
our time, coordinating humanitarian action and support in places like 
Syria and South Sudan.
   In December 2016, Minister Kang was appointed as a Senior Advisor on 
Policy by then United Nations Secretary-General-designate Antonio 
Guterres. Shortly after, in June 2017, the Republic of Korea's 
President Moon Jae-in appointed Kang Kyung-wha as the Minister of 
Foreign Affairs. She has been tasked with resolving sensitive 
diplomatic issues while furthering Korea's commitment to refugee and 
human rights. Minister Kang must help her country navigate one of the 
most dangerous geopolitical situations our world has seen: the 
nuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
   Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Kang 
Kyung-wha for the work she has done to safeguard humanitarian 
principles and further the international community's commitment to the 
rights of women and girls, and to congratulate her on her appointment 
as the Republic of Korea's first female Minister of Foreign Affairs. 
Minister Kang's continued focus on the advancement of women both in the 
Republic of Korea and internationally has paved the way for future 
generations of women around the world.

                          ____________________