열린장관실

Good evening everyone.

Chairman Shin Dong-Bin,

Honorable Dr. Lee Hong-Koo,

Members of the Asia Society Korea Center,

Distinguished Guests,

Before I began,

let me offer once again my deepest condolences and sympathies to all those affected by the devastating earthquake

in Turkiye and Syria.

Nearly forty thousand people have lost their lives

from the catastrophic earthquake last week.

Korea will continue to do everything we can

to support the rescue, relief and recovery efforts

in the aftermath of this awful tragedy.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my honor and privilege to be part of this special evening.

I wish to start by offering my warm congratulations

on the 15th anniversary of the Asia Society Korea Center.

My appreciation also goes out to all those

who worked so hard to organize this event.

I wish to especially acknowledge Chairman Shin Dong-Bin

and Honorary Chairman Lee Hong-Koo

for their vision and leadership throughout those fifteen years.

The Asia Society Korea Center would not be where it is today

had it not been for their unstinting devotion.

Indeed, since its opening in 2008,

the Korea Center has played a significant role

in strengthening the fibers of mutual understanding

between Korea and the United States

and within the region more broadly.

A quick glance through its activities last year

underscores both the relevance and the diversity

of the Center’s program.

Topics were very wide ranging,

spanning from Korea as a Global Pivotal State

and other traditional foreign policy issues

to social, cultural and educational themes.

I’m glad to see that gastronomy was also an important topic:

In August, there was the Recipe competition between Ramyeon and Ramen.

But the theme that stood out to me most was :

Why do youths and the old generation not get along?

Young people, Global Mistrust and Conflict.

The variety of themes

is true to the Asia Society’s mission

of navigating shared futures across policy, arts, culture, education and business.

Let me take a moment to highlight two important achievements

of the Asia Society Korea Center last year.

First, the Center continued to actively promote partnerships

with diplomatic missions in Korea.  

We have many ambassadors with us tonight.

You probably don’t need to hear from me

what the Center has been doing with your embassies.  

But it is worth highlighting that more than 80 ambassadors

are currently serving as Asia Society Korea’s honorary members.

That is, 70 percent of resident ambassadors

recognize the value of the Center’s mission.

And I’m told nine ambassadors  took part

in the ‘The Ambassador Interview’ program last year.

These interviews help strengthen

the bridge of mutual understanding across the region.

I also wish to congratulate the recipients

of the Ambassadors of the Year Award :

Ambassador Theresa Dizon-De Vega of the Philippines

and Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tung of Vietnam.

Second, the Center is actively cultivating

the next-generation of bridge-builders across Korea,

America and the Indo-Pacific region.

The ‘Asia Society Korea Youth’ program –

aptly called ‘ASK-Y’ in short –

and ‘Voice of Youth’ program are key examples.

They provide useful ways to channel

the fresh perspectives of tomorrow’s leaders.

Their views on key global issues such as climate change,

human rights, youth poverty and technology

are critical to ensuring that today’s leaders

also remain attuned to the concerns of tomorrow.

In a similar vein,

I also met with next generation Korean American leaders

from different backgrounds

during my recent visit to Washington DC.  

It was very helpful to listen to young startup founders,

a radiologist, public health expert, aerospace engineer and a congressional staff member.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Chairman Shin and I attended the Davos Forum in January.

The key buzzword that emerged from Davos was ‘Polycrisis’ –

a reference to the swirl of different crises facing the globe.

In a polycrisis world, the rules-based international order,

the universal values that we hold dear –

these can no longer be taken for granted.  

They are constantly being challenged,

whether from Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,

disruptions in global supply chains,

or in the aftermath of the global pandemic.

North Korea also poses an ever-growing security threat

not only to the Korean Peninsula

but also to the entire international community.

As the tenth largest economy in the world,

Korea needs to do more to help tackle these challenges.

And Korea WILL do more.

We are recalibrating our role and contributions

to better reflect our material capabilities and our soft power.

The 21.3 percent increase in our ODA budget this year

is one such manifestation.

Guided by our ‘GPS’ – or Global Pivotal State,

Korea will support the international community’s efforts

to navigate through turbulent waters of a polycrisis ocean.

Our Strategy for a Free, Peaceful and Prosperous

Indo-Pacific Region is the policy vessel that Korea will be using

to sail through those waters.  

(You can probably guess how much I love the Navy.)

By now, I’m sure you are familiar with the broad strokes

of Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy,

so I will not repeat them here.

Suffice it to say that Korea is actively stepping up

its engagement beyond the Korean Peninsula;

and we are strengthening partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region;

We will also take active part in shaping rules and norms

in key domains of the future.

In doing so, we will help strengthen

the rules-based order built on universal values

including freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights.

This is why I am flying to the Netherlands after this dinner.

I will be co-hosting the first global summit

on Responsible AI in the Military Domain

with my Dutch counterpart.

AI is already having a profound impact on humanity.

Military operations are no exception.

The international community must develop rules of the road

that ensure that the military application of AI

is done in a manner that protects human rights.

Just as an aside,

Some of you might be thinking about the movie Terminator.

So I asked ChatGPT – the latest AI wonder –

whether AI will be able to dominate humankind.

The answer, unsurprisingly, was NO.

ChaptGPT tried to comfort me by saying that

AI lacks the capability for independent thought and action.

But it added an important caveat :

that ethical and legal frameworks must be in place

to ensure AI is not used for harm.

That is what we are aspiring to do in the Netherlands.

To make sure Arnold Schwarzenegger ends up on the good side

and not the bad.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As many of you know,

this year marks the 70th of the R.O.K.-U.S. Alliance.

This makes the Korea-U.S. Alliance

three years older than the Asia Society,

which was founded in 1956.

As a matter of fact,

the Korea-U.S. Alliance and the Asia Society

can be considered relatives.

When John D. Rockefeller the Third founded the Asia Society,

he did so to “contribute to broader and deeper understanding between the peoples of the United States and Asia”.

The past seven decades of the Korea-U.S. Alliance

has also been a long but steadfast journey towards

“broader and deeper understanding”.

By the way,

many of the guests here tonight

have been key players in nurturing,

sustaining and advancing our alliance through thick and thin.

And I wish to thank them for their many years of service.  

Forging “broader and deeper understanding” –

this is a vision that remains no less relevant today.

For the Korea-U.S. partnership is evolving into a Global Comprehensive Strategic Alliance – both in scope and depth.

The scope of our alliance is broadening :

from the security to economic and technological domains.

The depth of our alliance is deepening :

extended deterrence is being strengthened,

we are partnering on key industries of the future

such as chips, nuclear energy and the final frontier –space.

Institutions like the Asia Society Korea Center,

will continue to be important partners

as we make real strides toward an “Alliance for the Future” between Korea and the U.S.

So on that note of solidarity with the Asia Society,

of solidarity with the nations represented here tonight,

let me conclude by expressing my best wishes

for the success of the Korea Center over the next 15 years.

Thank you. /END/