PRESIDENT'S BROTHER ILLUSTRATES KOREA'S GROWING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 000215 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2030 TAGS: PREL PGOV ETRD SOCI KS SUBJECT: PRESIDENT'S BROTHER ILLUSTRATES KOREA'S GROWING GLOBAL ROLE Classified By: POL M/C James L. Wayman. Reasons 1.4 (b),(d). ¶1. (C) Summary: President Lee Myung-bak's older brother and six-term Grand National Party (GNP) National Assembly Member Lee Sang-deuk told the Ambassador at lunch on February 9 that since vowing in June 2009 to stop meddling in domestic politics, he has focused his attention on securing natural resources in Bolivia and negotiating a free trade agreement with Mexico. Lee said he expected the National Assembly to approve the government's plan to send a PRT to Afghanistan. He voiced his opposition to transitioning wartime operational control (OPCON) to Korean commanders. Education, he said, would be a hot issue in the June regional elections. GNP Representative Kang Seok-ho, who accompanied Lee, said President Lee Myung-bak would ask Uzbek President Karimov to allow American support flights to Afghanistan to resume using Uzbek facilities when Lee and Karimov meet in Seoul on February 11. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Comment: That much of a conversation with a senior National Assembly member and the president's brother would be taken up with talk of Korea's foreign affairs outside of Northeast Asia is a reminder of Korea's emergence as an influential global partner. Bolivia and Uzbekistan are examples of countries where Korea, with better relations than the U.S., could assist with advancing U.S. interests. End Comment. Bolivia -------------- ¶3. (C) Lee has traveled to Bolivia three times in the past six months, most recently to attend President Evo Morales's second inauguration, to secure a share of Bolivia's lithium deposits (according to Lee, the largest in the world) for Korea's battery industry. ¶4. (C) Morales asked Lee to arrange a meeting for him in Seoul with President Lee Myung-bak. Lee passed the request to the Korean government but was not sure what the response would be, given the strained state of U.S.-Bolivia relations. ¶5. (C) Lee said he and Morales bonded after Lee spent an hour explaining the lithium market, which, according to Lee, Morales had not understood. Lee subsequently signed an MOU with Bolivia to establish a task force to develop the lithium market. ¶6. (C) Lee said he had heard that China had agreed to develop a satellite for Bolivia in exchange for natural resources. Morales is reportedly visiting China in March. Mexico -------------- ¶7. (C) Lee said he was recently in Mexico on a secret mission to kick start stalled ROK-Mexico free trade negotiations. Afghanistan -------------- ¶8. (C) The National Assembly would approve sending a PRT to Afghanistan, Lee predicted in spite of the Democratic Party's opposition. The government, according to Lee, had not yet made a final decision on what mix of personnel to send where. He did not anticipate that it would be an issue in the June regional elections. Uzbekistan -------------- ¶9. (C) Rep. Kang Seok-ho, noting that Uzbek President Islam Karimov would be in Seoul for a February 11 summit, said that President Lee had over the years developed a close relationship with President Karimov. Kang said President Lee would explore with Karimov the possibility allowing American support flights to Afghanistan to use air fields in Uzbekistan. OPCON Transition -------------- ¶10. (C) Lee raised the issue of OPCON transition, saying he was opposed to the transfer of wartime operational control of Korean forces to Korean commanders as of April 2012. Combined Forces Command (CFC) should not, he said, be abolished. Education Politics -------------- ¶11. (C) Education would be a hot issue in the June elections, Lee predicted, when Education Superintendents are on the ballot for the first time. The process would be confusing for voters because the Education Superintendent candidates would run without party affiliation. ¶12. (C) Lee said Korea owed its economic success to Korean society's passion for education and fierce competition to succeed. Nevertheless, due to the costs and stress inherent in Korea's education system, there was constant pressure on the government to reform the system but no consensus on what to do. The tension, he said, was in balancing Korea's competitive spirit with its egalitarian ideals in a manner that was affordable and effective. Bio Note -------------- ¶13. (C) GNP National Assembly Member Lee Sang-deuk is President Lee Myung-bak's older brother. He was first elected to the National Assembly from his hometown of Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province in 1988. He is now in his sixth term, making him one of the most senior members of the National Assembly. (Of 299 National Assembly members, there are four six-term members currently serving and one seven-term member.) Despite growing up in poverty, Lee graduated from Seoul National University and ran a successful textile company, Kolon Inc., before entering politics. Lee is married and has one son and two daughters. He is a practicing Protestant Christian. His English is very limited. STEPHENS