By Reporter Lee Joon-seok

Speaker Kim Jin-pyo of the National Assembly met with the delegation led by Frank Jannuzi, Chairman of the Mansfield Foundation, at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on July 27.

The Mansfield Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank established in 1983 to implement the vision of former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and Senator Mike Mansfield and his wife Maureen Mansfield, with the goal of promoting understanding and cooperation between Asia and the United States. It has been responsible for the U.S.-Japan-Korea Legislative Exchange Program since 2016 and other exchange programs related to Korea and Japan.

The visiting delegation, including Chairman Jannuzi, consisted of experts from the United States, such as Annika Culver, Professor of East Asian Studies at Florida State University; Hillary Holbrow, Assistant Professor of Japanese Politics and Society at Indiana University; Philip Lipscomb, Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto; Shiho Koto, Senior Research Associate at the Woodrow Wilson Center; Timothy Webster, Professor of Law at Western New England University; and Song Kyung-jin, former President of the World Economy Research Institute. 

They were invited to South Korea to participate in the Mansfield Foundation's next-generation program, which includes discussions and roundtable sessions with domestic experts.

Speaker Kim recalled his previous meeting and conversation with Chairman Jannuzi at a luncheon held at the Speaker's Residence in February. He welcomed the delegation's visit and expressed hope that it would be an opportunity to enhance understanding of U.S.-Korea relations and exchange productive opinions to further bilateral cooperation.

Furthermore, Speaker Kim mentioned that he is planning a visit to the United States in the latter half of this year and is working to establish a "U.S.-Korea Congressional Association" to institutionalize exchanges and cooperation between the legislatures of both countries. He earnestly requested the Mansfield Foundation, with its abundant human network, to take an interest in and support this endeavor.

In response, Chairman Jannuzi stated that there are many areas in which both countries can cooperate, including security, climate change, and pandemic response. He mentioned that many U.S. congressmen are also interested in the establishment of the congressional association, and the Mansfield Foundation will actively support it.

Subsequently, Speaker Kim and the visiting delegation engaged in in-depth discussions on various issues, including Korea's low birth rate and population-related concerns, the relations between Korea-Japan and Korea-U.S., and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.