"Denial of Visas for Some South Korean Lawmakers Linked to Past Actions"

[Anchor]

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has addressed the recent denials and delays in issuing visas to certain Democratic lawmakers, suggesting the decisions are related to some members' past actions from decades ago.

Lee Hanseok reports from Washington.

[Reporter]

Following the G20 foreign ministers' meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio directly addressed the controversy surrounding the visa denials and delays for South Korean lawmakers.

He stated that the issue is intertwined with the past actions of specific individuals from decades ago.

[Marco Rubio / U.S. Secretary of State: I think there were issues related to the actions of certain visa holders perhaps going back 20 years or so.]

This remark suggests that the National Security Act violation record of Jin Sung-joon, Chairperson of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee—who was sentenced to three years in prison with a three-year suspension of qualifications in 1991—was factored into the screening process.

Chairperson Jin applied for a U.S. visa to visit the country on behalf of the parliamentary defense committee, including a visit to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, but the controversy erupted after the U.S. side denied the visa issuance on October 28.

Yesterday (October 31), the U.S. side reissued an official visa, and Chairperson Jin departed for the United States this afternoon as scheduled.

Previously, Representative Chung Cheng-rae, a former leader of the Democratic Party, also attempted to visit the United States last month for a parliamentary audit of the South Korean Embassy in Washington, but had to abruptly change his itinerary due to visa processing delays.

When asked if the consecutive visa controversies involving South Korean ruling party lawmakers could strain ROK-U.S. relations, Secretary Rubio stated that the matter should be resolved through official bilateral channels rather than through press conferences.

(Video Reporting: Park Eunha | Video Editing: Kim Hojin)

---

[Anchor]

Let us connect to Washington to discuss this issue further.

Reporter Lee Hanseok, both Representative Chung Cheng-rae and Chairperson Jin Sung-joon appear to have obtained U.S. visas without any major issues in the past. Why are these incidents occurring exclusively now?

[Reporter]

On the surface, the U.S. explanation is that visa screening regulations were applied mechanically, but we also need to examine the diplomatic context.

In the past, when incumbent lawmakers traveled to the U.S. on official business, approval procedures were routinely expedited to issue visas.

However, this time, it appears that National Defense Committee Chairperson Jin's record of violating the National Security Act in the early 1990s flagged an electronic disqualification, which became the issue.

Notably, Secretary Rubio's remark that this is a matter to be resolved through bilateral consultations rather than public disputes at a press conference is worth attention.

Amid subtle friction in recent ROK-U.S. relations, analysts suggest this serves as a clear boundary-setting measure indicating the U.S. will not be dragged into public pushback or public relations campaigns by South Korean politicians, as well as a warning message that strict legal and security verification standards will be applied even to allies.

[Anchor]

Meanwhile, both President Trump and Secretary Rubio have left the door open regarding the possibility of North Korea-U.S. dialogue, haven't they?

[Reporter]

Let us first listen to what Secretary Rubio said regarding a North Korea-U.S. summit.

[Marco Rubio / U.S. Secretary of State: The bottom line is, as President Trump has stated publicly and repeatedly, he remains prepared to engage in such meetings.]

Secretary Rubio explained that President Trump does not view dialogue or meetings themselves as a concession to the counterpart. Even though North Korea has been identified as the culprit behind a cryptocurrency exchange hacking incident exceeding 6 billion dollars, President Trump refrained from condemning North Korea and expressed his intention to continue keeping the door open for dialogue by discussing the matter with Pyongyang.

(On-site Coverage: Park Eunha | Video Editing: Oh Young-taek)

※