Press Release

Representative Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA) released the following statement after being invited by President Joe Biden to participate in a Presidential Delegation to the Republic of Korea to attend the inauguration of President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol.

"It is an honor to be invited by President Joe Biden to travel to South Korea to attend the inauguration of President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol," said Representative Bera, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation. "The U.S-South Korea partnership, anchored in our shared values of democracy and a free market economy, continues to be the linchpin of regional security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. During a time of rapid geopolitical change and emerging threats in the region, our alliance will be key to solving the biggest challenges of the 21^st century. I look forward to joining my fellow delegation members, led by Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, to reaffirm and strengthen the close partnership between our two countries and people."

The Presidential Delegation will be led by Mr. Douglas Emhoff, Second Gentleman of the United States. Additional members of the Presidential Delegation will include:

• Mr. Christopher Del Corso, Chargé d'Affaires ad interim, U.S. Embassy Seoul
• The Honorable Martin J. Walsh, Secretary of Labor of the United States
• The Honorable Marilyn Strickland, United States Representative (D), Washington
• The Honorable Todd Sunhwae Kim, Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, Department of Justice
• The Honorable Linda Hee Jung Shim, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Agency Personnel; and
• Ms. Min Jin Lee, Author and Writer-in-Residence at Amherst College

Congressman Bera, who also serves as Co-Chair of the Congressional Korea Caucus and the Congressional Study Group on Korea, has long been a leading Congressional champion of the U.S.-South Korea alliance.