Korea's voice in Washington

By John Burton

Watching American news coverage of Donald Trump's trip to Korea last week, the focus was naturally on what the U.S. president would say or do. But that also meant that President Moon Jae-in was assigned by the U.S. media the role of a bit player in his own country.

That is one example of how Korea has had difficulty in making its voice heard in U.S. in the last few months despite the escalating tension between Washington and Pyongyang. American journalists focus almost exclusively on this dynamic while largely ignoring Seoul's perspective.

This is placing Seoul at a disadvantage in influencing U.S. policy toward the Korean peninsula among the American policy elite as well as the public. There are genuine grounds for concern about "Korea passing," as the U.S. media gives an inordinate amount of attention to the North Korean nuclear issue, while ignoring other key developments in South Korea. This is occurring at a particularly critical time when the Trump administration also wants to revise or even abolish the KORUS FTA.

Americans tend to view events on the Korean peninsula through the prism of national security. Little heed is given to the fact that Korea is entering a new phase as a rising and pragmatic middle power that is shaping both regional and global trends at a time of significant geostrategic changes. The Moon administration's efforts to rebalance the economy and reform Korea's energy policy, for example, receives little attention in even leading U.S. media such as the New York Times and Washington Post.

The result is that the Korean government should review its communications strategy in the U.S., particularly in Washington, D.C.

This situation is occurring despite Korea being one of the ten biggest spenders among foreign governments in conducting lobbying activities in the U.S. This includes hiring several prominent law firms to conduct lobbying activities with the U.S. Congress, and public relations agencies to perform media outreach.

Seoul spent around $4 million in 2013 on lobbying activities, the most recent estimate available from the Sunlight Foundation, an NGO that tracks lobbying activity.

But some of that money fails to achieve results. For example, one lobbying firm has been paid $25,000 a month to support a bill that would allow more Korean engineers to work in the U.S. for Korean companies such as automakers, but the proposal has remained stalled in the U.S. Congress for the last several years. Korea has also contracted the services of the Podesta Group, whose founder recently resigned because of alleged violations of foreign lobbying laws.

More worthwhile has been financial support provided by the government-affiliated Korea Institute for International Economic Policy for the U.S.-Korea Institute (USKI) and the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEIA) in Washington DC, which are regarded as the two premier think tanks in the U.S. that focus exclusively on Korean issues.

The USKI, which is affiliated with the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, has established itself as a highly credible and influential source when it comes to national security issues involving the Korean peninsula. The mission of the KEIA is broader in scope as it promotes dialogue between Korea and the U.S. on economic, political and cultural relations.

In many respects, KEIA occupies a unique role since it is only government-affiliated institute of its kind from Northeast Asia that is operating in the U.S., with neither Japan nor China having an equivalent organization.

That means that KEIA can serve as an effective voice for Korea in the U.S. and Washington since it serves as an excellent source of information for all aspects of Korean society, particularly when the Korean embassy in the U.S. lacks a senior diplomat in charge of communications.

KEIA's current focus is mainly academic in nature by sponsoring academic symposia, papers and journals, university outreach programs and dialogue between Korean and U.S. officials and lawmakers. It also holds an impressive series of panels in Washington on a variety of Korean topics (Full disclosure: I have moderated a couple of the KEIA seminars) and produces insightful commentaries and podcasts by its expert staff.

KEIA is also well positioned to coordinate activities with other Korean organizations operating in the U.S. including the Korea Foundation, the Korea International Trade Association and the Korea Tourism Organization, to improve messaging to the American public and help influence policy debates of significance to Korea. This is particularly important when there is a need for an effective and streamlined voice in the crowded and fragmented U.S. media landscape.

Instead of spending money on expensive U.S. lobbying and public relations firms, the Moon administration now has the opportunity to promote a more cost-efficient and credible way to make Korea's voice heard in the U.S. by devoting more resources to KEIA and USKI.

John Burton (johnburtonft@yahoo.com), a former Korea correspondent for the Financial Times, is now a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and consultant.