hankyoreh

The political situation that has arisen as a result of discontent over the U.S. beef agreement could have an affect on a visit to Korea by U.S. President George W. Bush scheduled for early July.

The Blue House has strongly denied that it is even considering the possibility that the upcoming U.S.-Korea summit will be postponed.

“President Bush’s visit to Korea is going on as scheduled,” said Blue House official Kim Tae-ho. “We have not considered postponing or canceling it.”

The Blue House’s position is perhaps the most natural one, and it is hard to imagine postponing or calling off a visit by a U.S. president because of negative public opinion. One concern is that any mishandling of the visit could turn the beef issue into a larger issue having to do with the entire U.S.-Korea relationship. Canceling or postponing a summit is a generally considered to be a worst case scenario in the world of foreign affairs, and is considered an indication that something is wrong with a bilateral relationship.

Still, some officials in the Blue House departments that deal with domestic politics have begun making other suggestions. One official said that if Bush arrives in Seoul while the candlelight protests are still going on, “it could lead straight to anti-Americanism.”

“The timing of Bush’s visit could be shaken if the current political situation isn’t resolved before he arrives,” the official said.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the People’s Countermeasure Council against the Full Resumption of Imports of U.S. Beef Endangered with Mad Cow Disease is planning to hold a large-scale “Protest to Oppose the Bush Visit” on July 5, immediately before Bush’s scheduled arrival unless there is real progress in getting a better deal on American beef imports.

Currently, the Blue House sees Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon’s visit to Washington on June 13 as producing perhaps the best possible scenario, if he is able to return with some sort of resolution to the beef concerns, perhaps in the form of an “additional deal.”

“An ‘additional deal’ is essentially the same as a ‘renegotiation,’ and we hope to have some sort of agreement that persuades the public that this is the case,” a Blue House official said.

Whatever happens, it appears unlikely the summit will be canceled, even if the trade discussion Kim Jong-hoon is scheduled to have in Washington fails to produce the kind of results the Korean public wants to see. There are also rumors coming from the Blue House that the location of the U.S.-Korea summit could be moved to Jeju Island and held there instead of in Seoul.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]