[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 1446-1447]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 444--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE 
STRONG ALLIANCE THAT HAS BEEN FORGED BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE 
 REPUBLIC OF KOREA AND CONGRATULATING MYUNG-BAK LEE ON HIS ELECTION TO 
                THE PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

  Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Ms. Murkowski, and Mr. Hagel) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                              S. Res. 444

       Whereas the United States and the Republic of Korea enjoy a 
     comprehensive alliance partnership founded in shared 
     strategic interests and cemented by a commitment to 
     democratic values;
       Whereas the alliance between the United States and the 
     Republic of Korea has been forged in blood and honed by 
     struggles against common adversaries;
       Whereas on December 19, 2007, the Senate passed S. Res. 
     279, marking the 125th anniversary of the 1882 Treaty of 
     Peace, Amity, Commerce and Navigation between the Kingdom of 
     Chosun (Korea) and the United States, and recognizing that 
     ``the strength and endurance of the alliance between the 
     United States and the Republic of Korea should be 
     acknowledged and celebrated'';
       Whereas during the 60 years since the founding of the 
     Republic of Korea on August 15, 1948, the Republic of Korea, 
     with unwavering commitment and support from the United 
     States, has accomplished a remarkable economic and political 
     transformation, rising from poverty to become the 11th 
     largest economy in the world and a thriving multi-party 
     democracy;
       Whereas the Republic of Korea is the United States' seventh 
     largest trading partner and the United States is the third 
     largest trading partner of the Republic of Korea, with nearly 
     $80,000,000,000 in goods and services passing between the 2 
     countries each year;
       Whereas there are deep cultural and personal ties between 
     the people of the United States and the people of the 
     Republic of Korea, as exemplified by the large flow of 
     visitors and exchanges each year between the 2 countries and 
     the nearly 2,000,000 Korean Americans who currently reside in 
     the United States;
       Whereas the United States and the Republic of Korea are 
     working together to address the threat posed by North Korea's 
     nuclear weapons program and to build a lasting peace on the 
     Korean Peninsula;
       Whereas this alliance is promoting international peace and 
     security, economic prosperity, human rights and the rule of 
     law, not only on the Korean Peninsula, but also throughout 
     the world; and
       Whereas Myung-Bak Lee, who won election to become the next 
     President of the Republic of Korea, has affirmed his deep 
     commitment to further strengthening the alliance between the 
     United States and the Republic of Korea, by expanding areas 
     of cooperation and realizing the full potential of our 
     mutually beneficial partnership: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate congratulates Myung-Bak Lee on 
     his election to the presidency of the Republic of Korea and 
     wishes him and the Korean people well on his inauguration on 
     February 25, 2008.

  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, today I introduce a resolution expressing 
the sense of the U.S. Senate regarding the strong alliance that has 
been forged between the U.S. and the Republic of Korea, ROK, and 
congratulating Myung-Bak Lee on his election to the presidency of the 
ROK.
  The U.S.-ROK Alliance is no ordinary alliance. It was forged in 
desperate struggle against North Korean aggressors, and it has been 
honed by more than 50 years of joint military operations on and off the 
Korean Peninsula. On the peninsula, ROK and U.S. forces stand shoulder-
to-shoulder, keeping the peace as they have done for 55 years. Off the 
peninsula, South Korean troops have fought alongside U.S. forces in 
Vietnam, Iraq twice, and Afghanistan. Even today, South Korea has more 
than 1,000 troops in Iraq. And Seoul voted last December to keep at 
least 600 troops in Iraq through the end of this year.
  The willingness of South Korea to devote blood and treasure to 
struggles far from its shores is not only a testimony to the loyalty of 
the Korean people to the American people, who came to their aid in a 
time of need, but also proof of the convergent national interests of 
the U.S. and the Republic of Korea.
  The U.S.-ROK Alliance is rooted in common strategic interests, but it 
is also fortified by common democratic values. South Korea has 
developed a vibrant democratic system, with strong protections for 
civil liberties and human rights. It was not always thus.
  South Korea's journey from authoritarianism and poverty to democracy 
and prosperity has been a long one--four decades of hard work by the 
Korean people. Democracy did not come without sacrifices. The South 
Korean government's bloody suppression of the Kwangju democracy 
uprising of May 1980, left thousands of unarmed civilian protestors 
dead or injured. Although the dictatorship persisted for another 7 
years, the democratic aspirations of the Korean people could not be 
denied.
  In the end, the Korean people accomplished a remarkably peaceful 
transition from dictatorship to democracy. By also building a robust 
economy that has lifted millions out of poverty, the Republic of Korea 
has provided a model for other developing nations in East Asia and 
beyond. South Korea is a world in information technology, with a much 
higher rate of broadband internet access, 30 percent, and more 
broadband total users, 15 million, than the United Kingdom, 24 percent, 
14 million, or France, 22 percent, 14 million.
  Just as Korea is no ordinary ally, President-elect Lee is no ordinary 
South Korean politician. The son of a farm worker, Lee was born in 
Osaka, Japan, on December 19, 1941, returning to Korea with his parents 
only after the end of World War II. As a boy, Lee worked with his 
mother, who sold ice cream, cakes, and other sundries to supplement the 
family's income. He worked as a garbage collector to help pay for 
school expenses, eventually earning admission to the prestigious Korea 
University to study business administration.
  In 1965, Lee joined Hyundai Engineering and Construction company, 
which had only 90 employees at the time. Over the course of 30 years at 
Hyundai, he advanced from junior executive to chairman, and helped 
build Hyundai into a global force in automotive manufacturing, 
construction, and real estate, with 160,000 employees.

[[Page 1447]]

  Lee's entry into politics came only after he had retired from his 
Hyundai career. He was elected Mayor of Seoul, Korea's capital and 
largest city, on a platform stressing a balance between economic 
development and environmental protection. He told the city's people 
that he would remove the elevated highway that ran through the heart of 
Seoul and restore the buried Cheonggyecheon stream--an urban waterway 
that Lee himself had helped pave over in the 1960s. His opponents 
insisted that the plan would cause traffic chaos and cost billions. 
Three years later, Cheonggyecheon was reborn, changing the face of 
Seoul. Lee also revamped the city's transportation system, adding clean 
rapid-transit buses.
  President-elect Lee stressed during his campaign that the U.S.-ROK 
alliance would be the cornerstone of Korea's security policy, and that 
strengthening and deepening the alliance would be a top priority for 
his administration. On North-South relations, he has pledged to sustain 
South Korea's engagement and investment in the North. But he has also 
articulated a policy of ``tough love,'' saying that he will consider 
progress on denuclearization as his government ponders major new 
investments designed to help modernize North Korea's economy.
  Today, as the people of the U.S. and the Republic of Korea look to 
the future, we can take comfort from the fact that we need not confront 
the challenges of North Korea's nuclear ambitions, terrorism, energy 
security, and global climate change alone.
  Working together, we will convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear 
weapons program and build a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. 
Working together, we can help inspire good governance and promote 
economic growth in Asia and beyond. We can lead by example and 
demonstrate that nations that respect the human rights of their 
citizens are nations that are innovative, prosperous, and peaceful.
  It is in celebration of the promise of this important partnership 
that I rise today, in concert with the Senator from Alaska, Senator 
Murkowski, to offer a resolution marking another milestone in South 
Korea's democracy--the election of Myung-Bak Lee as President--and 
wishing him and the Korean people well as they embark on the next stage 
of South Korea's remarkable journey from the horrors of the Korean War 
to the bright future that is today arriving at light speed in the 
Republic of Korea.

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