SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Yonhap) — Senior politicians and business leaders have departed for the United States to attend Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration ceremony, officials said Sunday.
With Trump set to return to the White House, questions have been raised over whether South Korea can push for high-level engagement with the incoming U.S. administration in the wake of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law imposition and his subsequent impeachment.
Seven lawmakers of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, including Rep. Kim Seok-ki from the ruling People Power Party (PPP), departed for Washington on Saturday.
The PPP also sent a separate diplomatic delegation to the U.S., and Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo and Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok will also attend Trump’s inauguration ceremony slated for Monday (U.S. time).
Rep. Kim Seok-ki of the ruling People Power Party (L) and Rep. Cho Jeong-sik of the main opposition Democratic Party speak to reporters at a restaurant in Washington, D.C., in this file photo taken Nov. 19, 2024, after meeting with U.S. politicians. (Yonhap)
Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin will attend the inauguration ceremony, along with Coupang Inc. Chairman Kim Bom; Ryu Jin, Poongsan Group chairman and head of the Federation of Korean Industries; Woo Oh-hyun, chairman of construction and shipping conglomerate SM Group; and bakery giant SPC Group Chairman Hur Young-in.
Among them, Chung and Kim will also attend the presidential inaugural ball to be held in the evening of the inauguration day.
Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin speaks to reporters after arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Jan. 18, 2025. (Yonhap)
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