[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 6478]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 WELCOMING THE PRESIDENT OF SOUTH KOREA

  Mr. McCONNELL. Later today we will welcome the President of the South 
Korea to address both Houses of Congress. President Park is a truly 
extraordinary woman, the first female chief executive of her country 
and, I might add, a conservative.
  She is a strong leader too. I suppose that is because she endured so 
much in her own life; the assassination of her mother when she was only 
22, the assassination of her father a few years after that, and the 
violent attack she herself endured in 2006.
  Yet beyond a scar on her face, you would not know. She didn't recoil 
in fear. She threw herself right back into the rough and tumble of 
public life. So she is tough. I know this tenacious leader is committed 
to the United States-South Korea alliance which is so important to both 
of our countries. The transition from her predecessor, President Lee, 
could not have been smoother. Both his administration and hers have 
been true partners, especially at a time of high contention.
  We welcome President Park and look forward to hearing what she has to 
say later today.

                          ____________________