Former South Korean unification minister to discuss stabilization and peace on Korean peninsula, in Northeast Asia

Former South Korean unification minister to discuss stabilization and peace on Korean peninsula, in Northeast AsiaApril 12, 2006Carol K. Masiclatclkim@syr.edu

Former Republic of Korea Unification Department Minister Sehyun Jeong will deliver an address on U.S.-Korean cooperation for peace and stability in Northeast Asia Friday, April 21, at 3 p.m. in Rooms 304 A, B and C of the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center. The address will be the sixth of Syracuse University’s annual Ambassador Pyo Wook Han Lecture Series on Korean/U.S. Affairs.

Jeong is a chair professor in the department of North Korean Studies at Ehwa Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea. He teaches courses on inter-Korean relations and unification affairs. Born in Manchuria in 1945, he studied international relations at Seoul National University (SNU), where he earned a Ph.D. Jeong’s Ph.D. dissertation was titled, “A Study on Mao Tse-tung’s Concept of International Relations.” He joined the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Unification (MOU) in 1977 and has held various posts such as Inter-Korean dialogue operation director of MOU, presidential secretary for unification affairs at the Blue House (executive office and official residence of South Korea’s president) and vice minister of MOU. Jeong served consecutively as the minister of MOU in the administrations of Presidents Dae Jung Kim and Moo Hyun Roh (January 2002 — June 2004).

“Professor Jeong is the primary architect of the current North-South inter-Korean relationship, including the two Koreas’ summit in 2000 and their growing economic cooperation,” says Jongwoo Han, director of the lecture program and adjunct assistant professor in the Maxwell School. “Focusing on the current gridlock of the Six Party Talks and the standoff of the bilateral relations between D.P.R.K. and the United States, former Minister Jeong will address points for more positive engagement strategies. Syracuse University is proud of running this lecture series, unique to this state, to deal with one of the most critical issues in the global society with the former minister of Unification of Korea.”

Actively involved in the inter-Korean dialogue since 1983, Jeong served as a delegate for inter-Korean rice talks in 1995 and as the head of delegation for inter-Korean fertilizer talks in 1998. He also led the South Korean delegation for the Inter-Korean Ministerial Talks from the seventh to the 14th meeting (August 2002 — May 2004). While serving as the minister of MOU, he commanded 95 inter-Korean talks (one-fifth of the total dialogues since 1971) and framed 73 agreements between the North and the South (half of the total agreements since 1971). He also witnessed the groundbreaking of Gaeseong Industrial Complex and the completion of railroad and road connections between the two Koreas. Jeong also established the customs, immigration and quarantine offices between the North and South.

Ambassador Pyo Wook Han ’42, for whom the lecture series is named, was a distinguished career diplomat, known for his crucial role as a pioneer and architect in establishing, maintaining and enhancing Korean/U.S. diplomatic relations throughout his life. Born in a farming village in Bookchong County, South Hamkyong Province, Korea, in 1916, Han completed his undergraduate studies at Yunhui College (now Yonsei University) and earned his A.B. in philosophy at SU in 1942. He earned an M.A. in government at Harvard University in 1947 and a Ph.D. in political science at the University of Michigan in 1963. Han received the George Arents Pioneer Medal from SU in 1957 and was added to the Distinguished Alumni Gallery of SU’s College of Arts and Sciences in 1999. Han died in August 2003.

This event is free and open to the public. Paid parking is available in visitor lots and garages. For more information on this event, call (315) 443-4742. A live webcast will be available at http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/ict/amb_han.asp.

The lecture series has been financially supported since its founding in 2001 by Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors and the Korea Foundation. The Information and Computing Technology Group of the Maxwell School has provided valuable staff support.