Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On South Korea President Yoon Address To Joint Session Of Congress And Reaffirming The Strong Relationship Between The United States And South Korea

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor welcoming the President of South Korea with a bipartisan resolution. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks:

Tomorrow, it will be a great honor of the House and Senate to welcome President Yoon of the Republic of Korea to the US Capitol. Ahead of President Yoon’s visit, Leader McConnell, Chair Menendez, Ranking Member Risch and I wish to welcome him through a bipartisan resolution reaffirming the strong support that exists for the US-Korean relationship.

Seventy years of this partnership have made both our nations safer, more prosperous, and more intertwined than ever. Today, millions of Americans know and love Korean music, Korean cinema, Korean food, and Korean goods and products. K-Pop now goes viral in our country, and for many Americans their favorite movies are not in English, but in Korean.

The Korean-American community embodies what the American Dream has always been about –coming to our country and building something of yourself, building strong families that enrich our communities and make our nation more prosperous. New York is proud to have one of the largest most dynamic Korean communities anywhere in the country, and I’ve been proud to fight for them here in the Senate. They are a wonderful addition to New York and the more Koreans there are in New York the better we are going to be.

And make no mistake, the US and the Republic of Korea need each other more than ever. As we continue to compete with China, the Republic of Korea is among our closest partners. And as we confront a belligerent North Korea, we must work with the Republic of Korea for our mutual safety. 

I also want to applaud President Yoon for beginning the process to revitalize his nation’s relationship with Japan. When we work together, we can make real strides to ensure security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.

Again, I thank my colleagues for working with me on this resolution, we thank President Yoon for coming to the Capitol.

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