Lee Myung-bak to Meet Bush Next Month

Grand National Party presidential nominee Lee Myung-bak is scheduled to visit Washington to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush in mid October. This is the first time a U.S. president has met an opposition presidential candidate of Korea ahead of the election.

Rep. Park Hyeong-joon said, “Lee is going to visit Washington from October 14 for a meeting with Bush as well as other representative leaders of U.S. political and economic circles,” adding, “Melissa Bennett, Deputy Assistant to the President for Appointments and Scheduling, confirmed the visit.”

The meeting date is not determined yet, but it will be either October 15 or October 16. The presidential candidate of the GNP is expected to discuss a wide range of issues, including the results of the inter-Korean summit talks slated for October 2-4, the North Korean nuclear problem, and the Korea-U.S. FTA.

“This upcoming meeting is meaningful in that it was made through the official channel of the White House. Given the fact that the encounter will take place just 80 days ahead of the presidential election, Washington is nothing short of recognizing Lee’s overwhelming status as a presidential candidate,” said spokesperson Park.

Lee is known to be considering meeting with Korean residents in New York and to participate in a music concert there.

sunshade@donga.com