[Exclusive] Democratic Party of Korea forms US election task force

The Democratic Party of Korea has launched a task force to brace for the US presidential election that takes place in six weeks to “prepare for potential challenges after the next administration takes office,” lawmakers told The Korea Herald on Tuesday.

The Democratic Party think tank, the Institute for Democracy, gathered a team of experts and lawmakers on the National Assembly’s relevant committees to kick-start discussions on the party’s approach to the US presidential election and the next administration.

The outcome of the task force’s work over the next few weeks will be published in a report before the election. The task force is slated to hold its first meeting on Oct. 4.

Lee Han-joo, the director of the Institute for Democracy, said in a phone call with The Korea Herald on Tuesday that the party was gearing up to be “ready for both scenarios, (former President Donald) Trump or (Vice President Kamala) Harris.”

On the Democratic Party and the think tank’s plans regarding the US election, he said the party was “trying to convey how the Korean people feel about the situation on the Korean Peninsula.”

The foreign policies pursued by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, with its faltering ratings, were “not a fair representation of how people in Korea perceive the security situation,” he said.

Against this backdrop, the next administration taking office in Washington “will be interested in what our party has to say,” he said.

Rep. Wi Sung-lac, who is on the task force, told The Korea Herald that the discussions will involve “our response to the situation arising after the election, and the directions that our policies should take.”

The task force, led by senior researchers at the Institute for Democracy, comprises Reps. Wi, Lee Jae-jung and Kim Young-bae of the foreign affairs committee, Rep. Kim Byung-joo of the national defense committee and Rep. Kwak Sang-eon of the trade and industry committee.

Two of the lawmakers on the task force, Reps. Wi and Kim Byung-joo, visited the US in June and met with former President Trump’s campaign officials and allies, including Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker.

According to Rep. Chung Dong-young, who was part of that delegation, the Democratic Party of Korea is planning a trip to the US with its leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung, to take place after the presidential election.

“It will be after the election, and we will be carefully considering when the right time will be,” he told The Korea Herald, adding that Lee has expressed “great interest” in the postelection trip.