Twenty-three in House take improper trips

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON -- At least eight House members and 15 House aides accepted trips to South Korea from a registered foreign agent despite rules prohibiting the practice, government documents showed Thursday.

Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and an aide to Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., were among those traveling at the expense of the Korea-United States Exchange Council since the group registered as a foreign agent on Aug. 22, 2001.
...
House members taking trips paid for by the council, since the registration, included DeLay; Jim McDermott, D-Wash.; Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D.; Eni Faleomavaega, D-American Samoa; Michael Honda, D-Calif.; Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla.; Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., and John Carter, R-Texas.
...
Dan Allen, DeLay's spokesman, pointed out that the council registered as a foreign agent only days before DeLay, Ros-Lehtinen and Crenshaw took their trip.

"When the invitation was extended and the trip planned, they were not registered," Allen said. "They never informed us of that change. The group was representing to members that they had the approval from the ethics committee."

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/03/10/twenty_three_in_house_take_improper_trips/

[babylonsister]

1. Another boondoggle. They all do it; apparently

one of the perks. "Lets meet for an hour or two, then play golf and get shmooze or get shmoozed!"
Frankly, that's another 'Merican Way' to see the world.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. I think it would be in the best of the Dem party's interest to get rid

of Dem politicians that do business as usual. We're not going to win this war with them hanging around.

[Goldeneye]

2. So would this be why pelosi wouldn't

file an ethics complaint against delay?

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. It sounds like it just involves the aid. Fire the aid.

[Goldeneye]

6. Is it possible she didn't know about it?

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. Does sounds suspect, doesn't it?

You send aids to these things for fact finding. Perhaps to keep an eye on the information the Repubs were privy to, who they talked to?

[VegasWolf]

5. Next lifetime, I'm gonna be a Politician and SCREW poor people. n/t

[seemslikeadream]

8. Korea United States Exchange Council - Strong ties to Heritage Foundation

Korea - United States Exchange Council - 7 trips


John Carter - Republican Party
November 28, 2003 - December 3, 2003 (6 days)
Seoul, Korea
Purpose - Familiarization trip to Korea, DMZ
Total Cost - $18,832.00

Ander Crenshaw - Republican Party
August 26, 2001 - August 28, 2001 (3 days)
South Korea
Purpose - Educational / Meet with government officials
Total Cost - $27,640.00

Tom DeLay - Republican Party
August 25, 2001 - August 28, 2001 (4 days)
South Korea
Purpose - Educational / Meet with government officials
Total Cost - $28,000.00

Eni Faleomavaega - Democratic Party
November 29, 2003 - December 2, 2003 (4 days)
Korean DMZ
Purpose - mark 50th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice agreement on the Korean penninsula. Will meet with senior official re Korea/United States relations. Visit American Troops at DMZ
Total Cost - $22,098.84

Michael Honda - Democratic Party
December 2, 2003
Seoul, Korea
Purpose - Familiarization with Korea
Total Cost -

Jim McDermott - Democratic Party
November 29, 2003 - December 2, 2003 (4 days)
Seoul, Korea
Purpose - Familiarization trip to Korea, DMZ
Total Cost - $9,340.60

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen - Republican Party
August 25, 2001 - August 28, 2001 (4 days)
Tel Aviv-Seoul, Republic of Korea and South Korea to Taipei, Taiwan
Purpose - educational and meetings with governmental officials
Total Cost - $27,960.00
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/cong...


Korea-United States Exchange Council Supporter of the USO?
http://www.uso.org/related /

Reinforcing friendship, S. Korean firm
to fund renovation at USO headquarters
By B.R. Sargent, Seoul bureau

SEOUL — The United Service Organizations headquarters on Camp Kim will get a huge remodeling job, courtesy of a South Korean company’s $400,000 donation.

“There are moments in life that are never forgotten, both good and bad,” said Kim Seung Youn, chairman of Han Wha Corp. “Sept. 11 is a day that will live for Americans and friends forever. But out of moments of great crisis comes opportunities. … n this case, it gives us the chance to reaffirm a friendship between two peoples who cherish their freedoms.

“Today as a Korean, I take my hat off to the 37,000 American men and women in uniform, who are far from home on the front lines for all that you believe in.”

During a check presentation, Army Gen. Thomas A. Schwartz, U.S. Forces Korea commander, spoke of the alliance between the United States and South Korea.
http://ww2.pstripes.osd.mil/01/oct01/ed103001e.html



US Foreign Agents Registry for the second half of 2002. These registrants worked as foreign agents on the behalf of foreign governments or political parties during the second half of 2002.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=FARA_late_20...

I thought I heard they just resister as a foreign agent.


Strong ties to the Heritage Foundation


Another Asia-related non-government group made up of influential government and business leaders that shares strong ties to the Heritage Foundation is Korea-US Exchange Council (Korusec), which has a pedigree similar to Usmea.

The council was set up in June 2001 by Kim Seung Youn, head of the explosives and chemicals chaebol Hanwha Group. Its purpose is to promote understanding of Korea in the US political community, primarily by exchanging visits with US lawmakers and their aides.

Kim is a close supporter of South Korean president Roh Moo Hyun as well as South Korea's ``sunshine policy'', inaugurated by former president Kim Dae Jung. The policy is based on trading hard cash and business investment for improved relations with North Korea.

The initial idea to establish Korusec was reportedly proposed at a function organised by the Heritage Foundation during the presidential inauguration ceremony for GeorgeWBush in January 2001. Kim was attending the ceremony as the guest of Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, whose wife is Elaine Chao.

Korusec's board of directors includes a fair number of US and Korean political heavyweights, including former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, former US ambassador to Korea Richard Walker and former Korean ambassador to the United Nations Park Soo Gil. Heritage president Feulner also sits on the board. Sheffer is an unpaid adviser to Korusec. ASG has close ties to Korusec and has lobbied on its behalf.

Korusec has effectively parlayed its inside connections to reach the highest levels of Washington politics. As part of its inauguration ceremonies in 2001, Korusec flew over then-House floor leader DeLay, his wife and aides. Since then it has played host to a number of senior US politicians, including former president Bill Clinton, who visited Seoul last November. Kim also accompanied Roh on his visit to the US last May, where they met DeLay and Senate Armed Services chairman John Warner.

In February last year, Korusec co-sponsored a conference with Heritage and the government-funded Korean Institute for Defence Analyses. Addresses were delivered by US South Korea ambassador Thomas Hubbard, UN and Korea/US combined forces commander General Leon LaPorte, and Edwin Feulner. Last October, Kim was photographed at a Heritage Foundation meeting with US Vice-President Dick Cheney.

more
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/index.html


May 08, 2002 The Korea-U.S. Exchange Council to Host Luncheon
When Wednesday, May 8, 2002
Where B. Smith's Restaurant
Union Station, Washington, DC
Contact Courtney Alexander,
[phone] or [e-mail]
The Korea-U.S. Exchange Council will host a luncheon on May 8th at 12:00 at B. Smith's Restaurant at Union Station. The luncheon will feature three speakers: Balbina Hwang of The Heritage Foundation; Mark Manyin of the Congressional Research Service; former Ambassador to the ROK (under Reagan) Richard "Dixie" Walker.

The conversation will be wide-ranging, from the Korean economy to U.S.-ROK relations to December Presidential elections to the North/South dialogue. Q and A will follow the brief remarks by the speakers.
http://www.kacdc.org/events/archives.html

Encouraging greater bilateral exchanges at the congressional level. Several formal organi­zations already exist within the U.S. Congress to promote bilateral exchanges, including the Korea–U.S. Exchange Council (KORUSEC), the Korea Caucus, and the U.S.–ROK Interpar­liamentary Exchange. They should be encour­aged to expand their activities to include vigorous and more frequent dialogue with their counterparts in the ROK National Assembly, including establishing study groups on specific topics of mutual interest. Furthermore, study groups should be established at the congres­sional staff levels in both countries to target issues of mutual concern and cooperation.
http://www.heritage.org/Research/AsiaandthePacific/bg1814.cfm

Kim Seung-youn's Mysterious Departure

Any way you look at it, the sudden departure of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn is a pile of mysteries. Kim is suspected of giving illegal campaign donations during last year's presidential election. To begin with, there's the question of how the prosecution was going about security that he was able to leave for the United States a day before it moved to have him prohibited from leaving the country. If it didn't even know he'd left, discovering the fact as it raided his conglomerate's offices, then that is just pathetic.
There had already been talk circulating of how Kim and his Hanwha Group had given large sums of money to both the ruling and opposition party presidential candidates during the campaign, and there was also giving of "election victory congratulatory money." There was talk also of how this part of the overall investigation might directly affect whether or not we go over the so-called "tenth" threshold. So when Kim calmly makes his way out through Incheon International Airport a day before he would've been prevented from doing so, you naturally wonder how that happened.

How many people would believe they're being told the truth when told the chairman of a chaebol, someone buried in his work, would suddenly leave for a long stint overseas to study the leisurely subject of "U.S.-Korea Relations and the NGO of the Future"? Kim is reputed to be a businessman who is meticulous about the details of everything within his organization.

One also does not believe that Kim would have left simply to temporarily evade investigators. It wouldn't be like a chaebol tycoon, who should know quite well that the government has a whole host of methods to pressure a conglomerate at its disposal. This is why you even hear suggestions Kim made this move because he was advised to do so ahead of time, since getting out of the way would make things less uncomfortable for each party.

If there is to be an avoidance of a situation where such suggestions give birth to suspicions that further endless more suspicions, then authorities must do everything they can to strongly encourage Kim to return and submit to this investigation. Kim, in turn, really should volunteer to return on his own when you consider his importance as someone leading the country's seventh largest conglomerate and the stature of that conglomerate. January 8, 2004
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200401/200401070026.html