[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15414]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 WELCOMING THE PRESIDENT OF SOUTH KOREA

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, later today, Senators will have the 
opportunity to hear from South Korean President Lee, and I know we all 
look forward to it.
  South Korea is a stalwart ally that enjoys a flourishing economy. It 
is a shining example of how embracing democracy and free market 
principles can transform a society for the good.
  Imagine, in 50 years, they went from a civil war to a military 
dictatorship to an evolving democracy and on the economic side to a 
thriving capitalist country that has the 13th largest economy in the 
world--from a country that was a recipient of foreign aid and Peace 
Corps volunteers to a country with its own foreign aid program and its 
own peace corps--all of that in 50 years, right on the same peninsula 
with one of the last Stalinist regimes in the world. It is a great 
success story that the United States has had an awful lot to do with 
promoting.
  The South Korean Free Trade Agreement we passed overwhelmingly last 
night on a bipartisan basis will only make our two economies stronger. 
Our already strong alliance will be even stronger.
  These agreements should serve as an example of the kind of bipartisan 
legislation Congress should be focused on right now.
  Many of us have been amazed to witness, as I indicated earlier, the 
rapid growth and evolution of South Korea--truly a remarkable 
accomplishment.
  So we welcome this great friend of the United States to our shores. 
We hope he and his wife have a memorable trip.
  As we face together the threat of North Korea and the rapid changes 
occurring in the strategic balance in Northeast Asia, we look forward 
to an even stronger alliance with South Korea in the years to come.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader is recognized.

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