SEOUL – South Korean President Lee Jae Myung pressed a bipartisan US Senate delegation on April 2 to ease visa rules for Korean expats, aiming to avert repeats of last year’s shocking detention of nationals during a raid at Hyundai’s Georgia plant, the Blue House reported.
Lee spotlighted stable residency for smooth rollout of Seoul’s massive US investments, pushing Congress to back the “Partner with Korea Act” for pro visas amid booming ties. The senators nodded to the woes and vowed close watch on worker visa snags.
Shifting gears, Lee pledged Seoul’s heftier defense self-reliance, eyeing full wartime operational control handover from Washington by 2030, once readiness benchmarks click. “We’ll guard our peninsula primarily with our own might, lightening America’s load,” he stated.
Senators praised the roadmap: Democrat Jeanne Shaheen stressed crisis-response muscle for transfer success; Republican John Curtis hailed boosted defense outlays, $25 billion US arms buys by 2030, and Korean pushes into American shipyards and factories. Lee also sought US insights on Mideast war’s security-economic tremors battering Korea.
The huddle underscores deepening alliance amid global strains, blending labor fixes, burden-sharing, and mega-deals to fortify economic bulwarks.