By Ahn Ho-young
Two weeks ago in this column, I wrote why I believe in institution-building and how I used to work to regularize 2+2 foreign and defense ministers' meetings between Korea and the U.S. It was one day before the 2+2 meeting in Seoul on March 18.
Around the time of the meeting and afterwards, I have observed lively debate taking place in Seoul concerning whether Korea should participate in the Quad activities among Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. Let me join the debate. I think there are at least three compelling reasons why Korea must participate.
First, it is in line with how Korea as a nation has developed so far since 1948. We have made consistent efforts to engage the world rather than withdraw from it. That made it possible for Korea to achieve the economic, political and diplomatic progress we have made so far. What I wish to add is that we must not be so complacent as to take our progress for granted. We started from a very difficult place.
When I joined Korea's government service in 1978, what impressed me was how isolated Korea was as an international actor. So much so that Kenneth Adelman at the time used to call Korea a member of "the Club of Pariahs" along with Israel, South Africa and Taiwan. Since then, we fought the odds and have come a long way. Think about the launch of APEC in 1989, and Korea's globalization campaign of the early 1990s and accession to the OECD in 1996.
When Korea faced the Asian financial crisis in 1997, we recovered from it through further engagement rather than withdrawal from the world. That made it possible for Korea to get over the 2008 global financial crisis relatively unscathed, and join the G20 as a key member. More recently, we hosted summit meetings for the G20 and the Nuclear Security Summit.
We succeeded in inviting the Global Climate Fund to come to Songdo and launching the Global Green Growth Institute in Seoul. I used to be part of these efforts, and can tell you from personal experience that the process was not always easy. What is more important to remember is that our achievements and reputation can recede, unless we stay the course that Korea so wisely chose and so persistently implemented.
Second, the Quad is a group of like-minded countries currently focused on many of the critical issues Korea has to deal with at the present stage. the Quad leaders met virtually for the first time on March 12 and issued a joint statement.
The joint vision for the group, as enunciated in the statement, is "to strive for a region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratic values and unconstrained by coercion." All the adjectives in the vision are the very ones Korea has adhered to closely as a nation and can easily support.
As for the imminent issues for the Quad, the leaders agreed to set up three expert groups. A vaccine expert group will collaborate to strengthen equitable vaccine access for the Indo-Pacific. Another group will work to strengthen the climate actions, including keeping a Paris-aligned temperature limit within reach.
Still another group will begin cooperation on the critical technologies of the future, focusing on such key issues as technology standards development, telecommunications deployment and supply chains.
Each of the three issues to be dealt with through the expert groups are key issues Korea is also focused heavily on, and will have important impact upon the future course of Korea's development as a nation. We can work on those issues alone. However, our experiences tell us that we can do much better through engagement with like-minded partners.
A related point to be made is the nature and status of the Quad as an entity. It is not a treaty-based body. It is not a formal organization with membership and a secretariat. It is an ad hoc group of like-minded countries focused on promoting cooperation on many of the critical issues those countries collectively and individually face today.
Third, participation in the Quad activities can significantly improve Korea's relations with each of the Quad countries. I had an opportunity to work on a number of regional and international groups, and always looked upon them as offering us a win-win opportunity. Korea could advance her national objectives through those groups.
At the same time, Korea could take advantage of those opportunities to significantly improve bilateral relations with the countries participating in those groups. In this connection, it should be remembered that the combined population of the Quad countries is 1.8 billion, while their combined GDP is $30 trillion. There is no reason why we should withdraw from the win-win opportunities offered through the Quad.
Ahn Ho-young (hyahn78@mofa.or.kr) is president of the University of North Korean Studies. He served as Korean ambassador to the United States and first vice foreign minister.
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Around the time of the meeting and afterwards, I have observed lively debate taking place in Seoul concerning whether Korea should participate in the Quad activities among Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. Let me join the debate. I think there are at least three compelling reasons why Korea must participate.
First, it is in line with how Korea as a nation has developed so far since 1948. We have made consistent efforts to engage the world rather than withdraw from it. That made it possible for Korea to achieve the economic, political and diplomatic progress we have made so far. What I wish to add is that we must not be so complacent as to take our progress for granted. We started from a very difficult place.
When I joined Korea's government service in 1978, what impressed me was how isolated Korea was as an international actor. So much so that Kenneth Adelman at the time used to call Korea a member of "the Club of Pariahs" along with Israel, South Africa and Taiwan. Since then, we fought the odds and have come a long way. Think about the launch of APEC in 1989, and Korea's globalization campaign of the early 1990s and accession to the OECD in 1996.
When Korea faced the Asian financial crisis in 1997, we recovered from it through further engagement rather than withdrawal from the world. That made it possible for Korea to get over the 2008 global financial crisis relatively unscathed, and join the G20 as a key member. More recently, we hosted summit meetings for the G20 and the Nuclear Security Summit.
We succeeded in inviting the Global Climate Fund to come to Songdo and launching the Global Green Growth Institute in Seoul. I used to be part of these efforts, and can tell you from personal experience that the process was not always easy. What is more important to remember is that our achievements and reputation can recede, unless we stay the course that Korea so wisely chose and so persistently implemented.
Second, the Quad is a group of like-minded countries currently focused on many of the critical issues Korea has to deal with at the present stage. the Quad leaders met virtually for the first time on March 12 and issued a joint statement.
The joint vision for the group, as enunciated in the statement, is "to strive for a region that is free, open, inclusive, healthy, anchored by democratic values and unconstrained by coercion." All the adjectives in the vision are the very ones Korea has adhered to closely as a nation and can easily support.
As for the imminent issues for the Quad, the leaders agreed to set up three expert groups. A vaccine expert group will collaborate to strengthen equitable vaccine access for the Indo-Pacific. Another group will work to strengthen the climate actions, including keeping a Paris-aligned temperature limit within reach.
Still another group will begin cooperation on the critical technologies of the future, focusing on such key issues as technology standards development, telecommunications deployment and supply chains.
Each of the three issues to be dealt with through the expert groups are key issues Korea is also focused heavily on, and will have important impact upon the future course of Korea's development as a nation. We can work on those issues alone. However, our experiences tell us that we can do much better through engagement with like-minded partners.
A related point to be made is the nature and status of the Quad as an entity. It is not a treaty-based body. It is not a formal organization with membership and a secretariat. It is an ad hoc group of like-minded countries focused on promoting cooperation on many of the critical issues those countries collectively and individually face today.
Third, participation in the Quad activities can significantly improve Korea's relations with each of the Quad countries. I had an opportunity to work on a number of regional and international groups, and always looked upon them as offering us a win-win opportunity. Korea could advance her national objectives through those groups.
At the same time, Korea could take advantage of those opportunities to significantly improve bilateral relations with the countries participating in those groups. In this connection, it should be remembered that the combined population of the Quad countries is 1.8 billion, while their combined GDP is $30 trillion. There is no reason why we should withdraw from the win-win opportunities offered through the Quad.
Ahn Ho-young (hyahn78@mofa.or.kr) is president of the University of North Korean Studies. He served as Korean ambassador to the United States and first vice foreign minister.
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