SETTING THE RIGHT COURSE: TRANSITION TEAM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 000329

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KN KS
SUBJECT: SETTING THE RIGHT COURSE: TRANSITION TEAM
CHAIRWOMAN LEE AND NSA-DESIGNATE KIM ON ROAD AHEAD


Classified By: Amb. Alexander Vershbow. Reasons 1.4 (b,d).


1. (SBU) Summary: On February 19, Transition Team Chairwoman
Lee Kyung-sook and National Security Advisor-designate Kim
Byung-kook met with the Ambassador to discuss preparations
for the planned April U.S.-ROK summit, the Transition Team's
performance, and the best way to kick off President-elect
Lee's diplomacy toward the U.S. Regarding high expectations
in Washington, Lee Kyung-sook and Kim assured the Ambassador
that the Lee Myung-bak Administration would do its best to
fulfill these expectations and said that the best way to do
so was to prepare a highly successful first summit. Lee said
she thought the Transition Team had done very well and hoped
its work would help set the Administration on the right
course. End Summary.

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Transition Team Wrap-Up
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2. (SBU) Over a cordial February 19 lunch, Transition Team
Chairwoman Lee Kyung-sook told the Ambassador that there had
been a lot of trial and error during the transition period
because there was no official record of what had been done by
previous teams. Future transition teams would fare much
better, she said, because of the detailed, systematic
documents the team had compiled about what they had done
during the two-month transition. She lauded the team several
times and boasted they did almost one year of work in the
short period since the December 19 election. There had been
some resistance from some ministries, she said, but overall
they had worked well with the Transition Team. Some friction
was to be expected since the team proposed to eliminate five
ministries. In dealing with the ministries, the team had a
motto of 4 C's: Care, Credibility, Cooperation, and
Creativity. She thought they had lived up to the motto. The
Transition Team also came up with the idea that President Lee
should lead through service to the Korean people and make the
Korean central government less authoritarian.

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Great Expectations
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3. (SBU) The Ambassador said that expectations were very
high for the Lee Myung-bak government in the USG. Lee noted
that once the U.S. and ROK recognized that our governments
shared the same value system, managing expectations and
increasing trust would come naturally. The Ambassador agreed
and noted the planned late April summit between President Lee
Myung-bak and President Bush would be a forum to confirm
these similar values and philosophy. The Ambassador said
that, by the time President Lee arrives in the U.S., Korea
should have agreed to open its market to U.S. beef in order
to ensure a successful visit and a positive reception by the
Congress, setting the stage for FTA ratification.


4. (SBU) NSA-designate Kim said that the U.S.-ROK alliance
was the pillar of ROK diplomacy, and the key to strengthening
the relationship was to have a very successful summit in
April. The Ambassador agreed that a good summit could signal
a move to a new era in U.S.-ROK relations based on trust and
common values. Also, the ROK would become more important to
the U.S. in regional and global diplomacy. Kim thought this
was positive but that it should not come at the expense of
the ROK's relationship with China. In this regard, he said
he was considering an early visit to Beijing to reassure the
Chinese.

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North Korea
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5. (C) Regarding North Korea, the Ambassador said that since
the DPRK continued to stall and had not made a complete and
correct declaration regarding its nuclear programs, we could
be headed into a period of deadlock. Therefore, it was
important to remain firm but not slam the door or break off
contact with the DPRK. If there was a disagreement between
the U.S. and the ROK over what tactics to use to deal with a
recalcitrant North Korea, problems could arise, the

Ambassador explained.


6. (C) Kim said that reciprocity toward North Korea had been
overemphasized in the campaign and in the MB Doctrine, an
outline policy paper for then-candidate Lee written in March

2007. While reciprocity was an important goal, it was
difficult to hold as the most important tenet when dealing
with a rogue state. Instead, reciprocal actions should be
sought through diplomacy, rather than being turned into a
declaratory policy. The Ambassador agreed that reciprocity
was perhaps better implemented on a macro rather than micro
level.

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Lee Myung-bak Personal Style
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7. (SBU) Lee Kyung-sook said that President-elect Lee
Myung-bak was very energetic, working his staff hard. Kim
Byung-kook said that the previous week, Lee had chaired two
meetings with the Blue House Senior staff that lasted until
11:00 p.m. Kim said Lee would call a meeting on an issue
with all those concerned and then brainstorm, and would play
the devil's advocate role in order to hear alternate views.
Given Lee's intellectual curiosity, the policy meetings could
often last 3-4 hours.

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Comment
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8. (C) Lee Kyoung-sook has led a very energetic transition
team for two months, proposing sweeping changes ranging from
scrapping five ministries to compulsory English education.
It is now up to senior staff like Kim to carry out her, and
President Lee's, vision. While Lee will now return to her
position as president of SookMyung University (her fourth
term as President runs through August),many expect her to
play an important role throughout the administration --
either in the National Assembly, as a minister, or even as
Prime Minister. Dr. Kim has his work cut out for him. While
very knowledgeable in all things American -- Phillips
Academy, Harvard -- he lacks bureaucratic experience; he will
have a steep learning curve. If he masters that and obtains
the President's trust, he will be a key player in the Blue
House.
VERSHBOW