[Current topic] Well-informed lawmakers fit for diplomacy

A number of National Assemblymen have been to the inauguration of the U.S. president. They say they had been invited, but the Washington government did not buy air tickets for their travel. It must have been a low-level invitation, and no Korean politician was seen sitting with President George W. Bush on the podium.

Not only on inauguration day but also on some other occasions Korean lawmakers visit Washington. Especially, those who aspire to become the president here think they should have many friends in Washington. They claim that they conduct parliamentary diplomacy by meeting American Congressmen through the good offices of their Korean and American friends.

When I was working as an environmental policy assistant in the office of the U.S. Defense Department or teaching at a Washington university in the 1980s, not a few visiting Korean assemblymen disappointed Americans and me there. Most of them left Washington without having had conversations worthy of the name or having received decent hospitality. Only a few Korean lawmakers were able to have in-depth discussions on pending issues between Seoul and Washington with their American counterparts.

To speak in harsh terms, the Congressmen seemed to think they wasted their time meeting the Korean lawmakers. An appointment was made for a meeting of half an hour or one full hour, but conversations could hardly last longer than five or 10 minutes. I have never seen lawmakers who wished to extend the appointed time or were ready to make a second appointment, feeling sorry to part with each other.

There is nothing wrong with diplomacy among parliamentarians in itself. But some requirements must be satisfied if such diplomacy is to be meaningful. In short, our assemblymen ought to be knowledgeable and intelligent. They should be well informed about the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), the Nogun-ri incident, the relations between the United States and North Korea, conservatism, liberalism, etc.

Supposing those National Assemblymen that visited the United States with money collected from Korean taxpayers, they should record the purpose and results of their trip. I really hope to read the records of their travels. Did they have clear objectives in going to Washington? They have to do much homework and prepare for their visit to the United States in order to carry out necessary parliamentary diplomacy.

With so little knowledge and information that could not last more than five minutes of conversations they would never be able to engage in proper assemblyman diplomacy.

Some ambitious lawmakers organized political groups in support of their electoral ambitions among the Korean communities in Washington and other major cities. When I was in the United States I myself warmly received opposition politicians living in the United States in the face of political repression and ostracism by their authoritarian home governments, and I also took part in some meetings for democratization. Having those support groups in the United States even now would not be justifiable.

Assemblymen might have personal friends, but there is no reason to have political organizations on their behalf.

There are reasons that Korean politicians are unable to acquire the required knowledge, information and analytical power. There is no time for them to study how to formulate, implement and evaluate public policies. They are obliged to attend the weddings and funerals of their voters, leaving policy study up to the party they belong to. Some lawmakers have been elected from among able political aspirants in Korea. Once they got into the house floor they were rendered incompetent, obsessed with the higher-ups in the power hierarchy or partisan allegiance. These make them incapable of acquiring the knowledge and skill to have a fruitful dialogue with U.S. lawmakers.

Effective parliamentary diplomacy could be possible only when Korea`s political culture that incapacitates National Assemblymen upon their entry into the legislative chamber were reformed.

Furthermore, the nation ought to gain its dignity to the extent that Korean lawmakers can no longer relishing making a pilgrimage to Washington. No matter how small Korea might be, it no longer exists in a world order where the strong prey upon the weak. With greater civilization, dignity and authority on its part, Korea can lay claim to due respect from the international society. A country whose political corruption ruined its economy does not deserve respect.

If it can keep civility and conscience alive, even a small and weak nation might be able to command esteem from other countries.

In case they are visiting the United States they are expected to learn its political culture. They, I hope, they should learn the spirit of the U.S. Constitution, basing its democracy on the separation of powers and placing the legislature on an equal footing with the administration. The most important function of Congress is to check the administrative branch. They ought to learn from the attitude of American lawmakers, who seek to stabilize and develop the economy by saving taxpayers` money and providing relevant fiscal and tax policies. Such National Assemblymen who do not know exactly where the 160 trillion won in public bailout funds had gone are not qualified to go to Washington.

Choi Yon-Hong, professor of the graduate school of urban science, University of Seoul