Foreign Minister Cho to raise lawmaker’s U.S. visa delay with Rubio

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Tuesday he plans to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his visit to the United States this week, with the two sides expected to discuss a visa issue involving a ruling party lawmaker, as well as other bilateral matters.

Cho made the remarks during a parliamentary audit of the foreign and unification ministries, responding to Rep. Hong Kee-won of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) who urged the government to formally convey its concerns to Washington over the U.S. visa issue involving Rep. Jung Chung-rae.

“I am scheduled to visit the United States the day after tomorrow and meet with Secretary Rubio. I will raise the issue then as well,” Cho said.

Cho is scheduled to make a five-day visit to Atlanta starting Thursday to attend a Group of 20 foreign ministers' meeting hosted by Rubio. The foreign ministry has said Cho is also seeking bilateral meetings with counterparts from other major countries to discuss pending global and regional issues on the sidelines of the gathering.

Jung had been scheduled to join a parliamentary audit of Korean diplomatic missions in the Americas earlier this month. But his U.S. visa application remained under review by the U.S. State Department, with no decision issued before his planned departure, prompting him to switch to the committee's Europe audit team.

The case has drawn criticism and concerns that it could be seen as another sign of strain in Korea-U.S. relations, which have faced differences over economy and security issues.

“I had also raised concerns about the matter with the acting U.S. ambassador to Korea on Oct. 8,” Cho noted.

Yonhap