열린장관실

Congratulatory Speech

The Korea Society annual dinner

- 19 September 2006, New York -

Ambassador Gregg, the Honorable Madeleine Albright, Chairman Lee Kun-Hee, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

I am greatly honored to be the speaker this evening to congratulate Chairman Lee Kun-hee on receiving the Van Fleet Award this year.  I would like to start by underscoring the importance of our gathering today, and offering some of my thoughts on the Korea Society and its unique place in ROK-US relations.

The Korea Society Annual Dinner is THE event of the year for ROK-US friendship.  And it has been getting better and bigger year after year.  It is an indication of the ever-expanding ties of cooperation and friendship between our two great countries. 

Our special thanks should go to Ambassador Gregg for the excellent arrangements for this evening, and his able stewardship of the Korea Society during the past 13 years.  He has led the Society with an exceptional brand of experience, wisdom and dedication to the friendship between the two allies.  

I am also grateful for the inspiring words of our distinguished keynote speaker of the evening, the Honorable Madeleine Albright, who remains, beyond her years in active government service, a most admired leader around the world.  As US Ambassador to the United Nations and then as the first woman Secretary of State, Dr. Albright was a leading mover and shaper in the dramatic world events in the turbulent years of the 1990s.  I am sure we are all made wiser and enlightened by the insights that she has shared with us this evening.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I join all here in extending my heartfelt congratulations to Chairman Lee Gun-Hee of the Samsung Group, for receiving the Van Fleet Award for this year.  As a former honoree myself, I am delighted that our rank has been joined by this most accomplished business leader that Korea has given the world.

Chairman Lee does not need an introduction.  The facts speak for themselves.  He is an entrepreneur and business leader par excellence on a global scale.  Since becoming Chairman of the Samsung Group in 1987, he has secured phenomenal achievements in electronics and other high tech industries that have made "Samsung" a household name around the world. 

Chairman Lee has always been a reformer, always at the lead of innovation in business management.  He is a philanthropist, whose generosity has touched the lives of countless people both inside and outside Korea. 

This year, Samsung ranks 20th in the world with assets totalling 16.2 billion dollars.  Fortune Magazine ranked it 27th in its survey of the world's most admired companies.   The Chairman can be very proud, and we are very proud of him and the excellence in business that he has spearheaded. 

While Chairman Lee's outstanding achievements as a business leader is widely recognized, the substantial and sustained contribution he and the Samsung Group have made to the relations between Korea and the United States has yet to be fully appreciated by the Korean and American publics. 

Samsung has also been a generous benefactor in community and charity work in the United States.  In 2002, Samsung launched a highly praised campaign called "Four Seasons of Hope" to help children and persons with disabilities across the United States by partnering with prominent athletes and business leaders to raise funds for medical research.

In sum, ROK-US ties have greatly benefited from the Chairman's contributions.  The esteem of the Van Fleet Award is greatly enhanced by its latest honoree.        

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Republic of Korea and the United States are bound together by history and the shared values of freedom and democracy, human rights and the rule of law.   

The two countries have been working closely together to meet common challenges, including the North Korean nuclear issue, the modernization of the ROK-US alliance, as well as the free trade negotiations between the two countries. 

In particular, during the summit meeting in Washington last week, President Roh Moo-hyun and President Bush agreed to cooperate with other participating countries of the Six Party Talks on the North Korean nuclear issue to develop a common and broad approach aimed at reconvening the stalled Talks.  Korea and the United States are strongly determined to realize the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, as envisaged in the Joint Statement announced on this day last year. 

Beyond strengthening the alliance, our two countries have a great many tasks to undertake and challenges to face together.  We are close partners on the global stage.  We are working together at the UN to deal with a myriad global issues, such as terrorism, WMD proliferation, elimination of poverty, environmentral degradation, HIV/AIDS and other pandemics, humanitarian crises, and the protection and promotion of human rights.

Ladies and gentlemen,

As you may know, I am a candidate for the post of the next Secretary-General of the UN.  This is not the time or place for me to talk about the UN.  But I mention my candidacy at the urging of Ambassador Gregg, who tells me that everyone here, as staunch supporters of Korea-US cooperation, would also be staunch supporters of the UN. 

Let me just say that my bid is made possible, and hopefully winable, because of your support, and because of Korea's growing profile at the global organization whose birth and evolution over the past six decades the US has spearheaded.      

During the past months, I have travelled to many countries and met with many leaders to listen to their aspirations for the future of the global organization.  My thinking on the UN has been greatly enriched as a result.  I am well aware that the expectations riding on the next Secretary-General are high and wide. 

The UN is at a critical juncture when it must become more effective and relevant in dealing with the new challenges of the 21st century.  The global organization is fatigued and overstretched, and often criticized for being unable to deliver on promises made.   Some even question the relevance and efficacy of the global body forged in the aftermath of World War II.

However, this globalizing world of global problems calls for collective responses that can only be forged at the UN.  To be sure, the Organization needs to sharpen its tools and streamline its work.  The active support and participation of the United States is crucial for reforming and revitalizing the UN system so that it may proactively tackle the issues of the global community in the 21st century. 

Working closely with the United States, the next Secretary-General of the UN will have the chance to lead the UN to a new era of enhanced global cooperation.  With great humility and sense of duty, and with the kind support and encouragement of everyone here, I hope to be given the opportunity to undertake such a mission.  In this connection, I am greatly encouraged by the result of the second straw poll in the Security Council last week.  It was, I believe, a reaffirmation of the confidence placed in me and what I could bring to the global body. 

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Korea Society marks its 50th anniversary next year.  The jubilee celebration will be a milestone not only for the Korea Society but also for Korea-US friendship.  The happy occasion will be marked with a gala dinner in Seoul on February 3, 2007.  The Korean government is fully supportive of this important occasion, and will be rooting for the Society as it opens another half-century of invaluable contributions to Korea-US friendship. 

In closing, may I once again offer my heartiest congratulations to Chairman Lee Kun-hee on receiving the Van Fleet Award, to the Korea Society for fifty years of outstanding work, and to all here for an enjoyable and uplifting evening of friendship.    

Thank you for your kind attention.  /END/