NEXT PRESIDENT OF SOUTH KOREA... JIN PARK?

Note from my friend, Mingi:

I've met many South Korean lawmakers, gov't officials and former politicians, and none of them compares to the young and conservative brilliance that is PARK JIN. Amongst the South Korean moderate and right-wing circles, he's tabbed and supported as a definite presidential candidate for the conservative party in the years ahead. And if South Koreans know what's good for them, Park should become South Korean president within the next 10 years. Unfortunately, as seen from election results over the past decade, South Koreans are digging their own grave and going left.

Rep. Park to Talk With High-Level US Officials
THE KOREA TIMES

Grand National Party (GNP) lawmaker Park Jin will fly to Washington tomorrow to gather information and convey his party's concerns regarding the recent U.S. decision to shift some of its troops stationed here to Iraq.

Park, one of the few international relations experts in South Korea's parliament, said he will meet various high-level officials in the U.S. administration, Congress and think-tanks during his weeklong trip. As a special envoy of the opposition party, he will also be learning more about the U.S. position on key security issues such as the troop realignment and the North Korean nuclear crisis.

``U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific Affairs James Kelly will be one of the high-level officials I'll contact, Park said in an interview with The Korea Times. He balked at giving any additional names, only adding that they will include other high-profile officials from the White House, State Department and the Pentagon, as well as leaders from the
House of Representatives and the Senate.

On Monday, the South Korean government confirmed that it has agreed to a U.S. plan to move about 3,600 troops out of the 37,000-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) to Iraq on a one-year mission.

Despite the allies' assurances that the relocation will not hurt their combined defense stance against threats from the communist North, the move prompted public concerns about a possible security vacuum, especially among conservative forces represented by the GNP.

The main opposition party, often regarded to be friendlier to George W. Bush's administration than the Uri Party, has continuously raised their voices in fear of any decline of the half-century-long ROK-U.S. alliance.

``I will deliver my party's concerns and position about the recent development surrounding the alliance to the U.S., Park said.

He added that he would provide more detailed results to the press of his activities in the U.s. when he returns home on May 28.

Born in Seoul in 1956, Park graduated from Kyonggi High School and Seoul National University with a BA in law. He served as a naval officer after passing a state exam training the country's diplomats in 1977. He later studied at Harvard University's Kennedy School in the U.S. and Oxford University in the United Kingdom before serving as a staff member of Chong Wa Dae in 1994.

In addition to his latest book on North Korea's nuclear problem published last year, he also wrote a book in 2002 based on his encounters with prominent world leaders, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton, whom he met while serving as a secretary of former President Kim Young-sam in the early 1990s.