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SEOUL, South Korea – Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ended her two-day visit to Seoul on Thursday, but her non-face-to-face meeting with the president has sparked controversy among South Koreans.
Pelosi is the first seated speaker to visit South Korea since Dennis Hastert visited Seoul in 2002. She met her counterpart, Kim Jin-pyo, Speaker of the National Assembly, and agreed to support efforts by both governments to achieve denuclearization and peace in the peninsula under strong deterrence against North Korea.
Public criticism, however, has been leveled at South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who skipped a face-to-face meeting with Pelosi because he was in his country’s capital, Seoul, for the summer vacation.
Despite her official visit to Seoul, the South Korean Presidential Office made several responses during the meeting with Pelosi.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., addresses media after meeting with South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo at the National Assembly August 4, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Kim Min-Hee – Pool/Getty Images)
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First, the Office of the President told reporters that the meeting between Yoon and Pelosi was not arranged because of Yoon’s planned summer vacation. Then it suddenly said it was coordinating with Pelosi’s office to arrange a meeting, but then reversed its announcement and said there was no coordination between the two offices.
Though Yoon stayed at his home in Seoul, his office finally confirmed on Thursday that the two would have a phone conversation and not a face-to-face meeting. The phone call between the two lasted 40 minutes.
At the beginning of the trip, she met with the leaders of Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan before arriving in Seoul. She is also expected to meet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday.
South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk-yeol waves after the presidential inauguration at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, May 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
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Choi Young-bum, the president’s senior public relations secretary, said the decision not to have a meeting with Pelosi was made because of “the national interest.”
However, the official declined to answer further questions from reporters about what “the national interest” pertains to in this situation.
Adding to the controversy was Pelosi’s delegation arriving at Osan Air Base on Wednesday, where a photo showed the absence of Seoul officials who greeted her and the delegation at the scene.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., far right, speaks with South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo, far left, during their meeting at the National Assembly August 4, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea. (Kim Min-Hee – Pool/Getty Images)
Choi said that Pelosi’s counterpart, the Speaker of the National Assembly, was the one who should have been responsible for holding a welcoming ceremony. He also claimed that Pelosi’s office turned down a ceremony given their delegation’s late-night arrival on Wednesday.
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Pelosi’s office has yet to comment on the controversy arising from criticism leveled at the South Korean president by many in the public there.
Mitch Shin is a Seoul-based reporter for Fox News Digital. Follow him on Twitter @MitchShin5