Day of Reckoning
South Korea’s democracy has faced yet another stern test with the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, a polarising figure whose ill-conceived martial law decree plunged the nation into a constitutional crisis.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and his visiting US counterpart Joe Biden are set to hold their first summit in Seoul on Saturday on a range of issues, including North Korea’s nuclear programme and supply chain risks.
On Friday, Biden arrived on his first visit to the country as President and only 10 days after Yoon took office, reports Yonhap News Agency.
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On the first stop of his three-day visit, Biden visited a Samsung semiconductor plant in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul, on Friday.
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He was joined by Yoon and the two were given a personal tour of the sprawling compound by Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.
The visit underscored the two countries’ commitment to working together to strengthen supply chains amid a post-pandemic global shortage of semiconductors.
Yoon told Biden that the facility is “the site of the industrial and technology alliance between South Korea and the US”, a presidential official told reporters Saturday.
Yoon also said semiconductors are the core of the bilateral alliance and that advanced industries are only made possible by a free environment and creativity, and impossible without a liberal democratic system, according to the official.
Biden’s second day in Seoul will include a visit to Seoul National Cemetery, where he will pay tribute to fallen soldiers, a summit with Yoon at the new presidential office in the central district of Yongsan, and a joint press conference.
He will later attend a banquet hosted by Yoon at the National Museum of Korea.
During the summit, the two sides are expected to discuss the full range of security and economic challenges facing the allies and the region, including the growing threat of North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
On Sunday, Yoon and Biden will jointly visit the Korean Air and Space Operations Centre at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, where they will be briefed on its activities and encourage South Korean and US service members.
Biden will depart for Japan on Sunday afternoon to continue on the second leg of his Asia tour.
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