On December 5, the Republic of Korea and the United States held the 5th ROK-U.S. Democracy and Governance Consultations (DGC) and an annual ROK-U.S. Roundtable on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The meetings were co-chaired by Lee Chul, Director-General for International Organizations and Nuclear Affairs at the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Julie Turner, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the U.S. Department of State. Other participants included representatives from relevant ROK government agencies – the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Korean National Police Agency and the Korea Coast Guard – and officials from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.

During the DGC meeting held in the morning, the ROK and the U.S. shared their respective efforts to promote fundamental freedoms and human rights, which form the cornerstone of democracy. In particular, the two sides agreed to explore ways to strengthen bilateral collaboration to counter transnational crimes, including trafficking in persons in online scam operations.

During the TIP Roundtable held in the afternoon, both countries expressed concern over the evolving nature of trafficking in persons and reaffirmed the importance of efforts to identify victims and to strengthen capabilities of relevant agencies as well as cooperation with civil society. In this regard, they agreed to continue close communication between the two countries in the future.

Today’s meetings, the first since the inauguration of the new administrations in the ROK and the U.S., provided an opportunity to strengthen policy communication and cooperation between the two countries.