Sung Kim displays pride in Korean ethnicity during U.S. Senate confirmation hearings

Posted on : 2011-07-23 13:12 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Kim introduced his family and talked about his family’s tradition of foreign service
 nominee for U.S. ambassador to South Korea
nominee for U.S. ambassador to South Korea

By Kwon Tae-ho, Washington Correspondent

On July 21, in the front row of seats at the conference hall of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, sat the family of Sung Kim. Kim, 51, is the U.S. Department of State’s Special Envoy for the Six Party Talks and the first ethnic Korean to be nominated as the U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Korea. At the U.S. Senate, it is a tradition for the families of nominees to attend their hearings.

After Kim’s opening remarks, Senator Jim Webb, chairman of the Committee’s East Asia and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, said that Kim’s family members must be very proud of him, and asked that they be introduced. Smiling, Kim asked his family members to stand up, then introduced his wife, Jeong Jae-eun; his two daughters; his elder brother; his nephew; and his niece.

“When my parents brought me to the United States some 35 years ago, they could not have imagined that I would have the opportunity to serve as the first Korean-American Ambassador to the Republic of Korea,” said Kim in his opening remarks.

Kim’s father served as the Korean minister to Japan during the Yushin government of the 1970s. He was implicated in the kidnapping of then-opposition politician Kim Dae-jung in Japan and emigrated immediately afterwards to the United States with his family, including Sung Kim, who was a middle school student at the time.

“I do recall that from the very early days, my parents encouraged me to go into public service,” said Kim. “They were so proud when I joined the Foreign Service and thrilled when I chose to focus on East Asia, especially Korea.”

“In the space of a few decades, the Republic of Korea emerged from a half-century of occupation, division and war to join the top ranks of the world’s free and prosperous nations,” said Kim, who emphasized his Korean ethnicity. Expressing his appreciation, he said, “This stunning achievement is testimony to the talent, determination and sacrifices of several generations of Koreans.”

At the hearing Kim gave answers to questions on Korean Peninsula security issues, such as resumption of the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue and food aid to North Korea and questions on the South Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) that were almost identical to the U.S. government’s official position.

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