KEI announces 2011 Ambassadors' Dialogue
November 18, 2011
From November 29, 2011 to December 3, 2011, the Korea Economic Institute (KEI) will be hosting its annual Ambassadors’ Dialogue on Korea with the Korean Ambassador to the U.S., Han Duk-soo and former U.S. Ambassador to Korea, Kathleen Stephens. The two ambassadors, along with Ambassador Jack Pritchard, President of KEI, will embark on a series of public and private programs on U.S.-Korea relations throughout the U.S. Ambassadors’ Dialogue on Korea has been a premier annual KEI event since its inauguration in 1992.
In each city, the two ambassadors will address audiences of civic leaders, students, veterans, local media, business representatives, and local political leaders to discuss the current security and economic situation on the Korean peninsula and the state of U.S.-Korea relations. The core event in each city is a joint appearance by the two ambassadors at a luncheon or dinner program sponsored by a local organization.
In 2011, Ambassador Stephens and Ambassador Han, along with Ambassador Jack Pritchard, President of KEI, will visit the following cities:
- Kansas City and Independence, MO (November 29-30)
- Salt Lake City, UT (November 30-December 1)
- Reno and Carson City, NV (December 1-December 2)
- Phoenix, AZ (December 2-December 3)
Ambassador Han Duk-soo was appointed by President Lee Myung-bak as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of the America on January 18, 2009. Before the appointment, Ambassador Han served as the 38th Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea from April 2, 2007 to February 2008. Prior to that, he served as the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Facilitating KORUS FTA, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Finance and Economy.
Ambassador Kathleen Stephens is the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, who entered the Foreign Service in 1978 after service as a Peace Corps volunteer in Chung-nam, Korea from 1975 until 1977. Her recent diplomatic assignments have included tours in Washington as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of European Affairs, where her portfolio focused on post-conflict issues in the Balkans, including Kosovo's future status.
Media outlets that want to join the trip may do so at their own expense and arrangements. Moreover, correspondents traveling with the delegation will have all access to public events, but not private events. For further information, please contact Sarah Yun (sky@keia.org).