North Korean Defector-Turned-Lawmaker to Attend Washington Summit

Ji Seong-ho to deliver a speech amid North Korea’s protest
US, South Korea press Kim Jong Un through shared values

Ji Seong-ho at the White House in Washington, DC., in 2018. Photographer: Zach Gibson/Bloomberg

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By Jeong-Ho Lee

March 25, 2023 at 12:33 AM UTC

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The US invited a South Korean lawmaker who defected from North Korea to address a Washington DC summit next week in a move likely to anger Pyongyang.

Ji Seong-ho is set to deliver a speech Tuesday in a panel discussion hosted by the bipartisan Commission of the US House of Representatives, House of Democracy Partnership. His office said on Saturday that he will emphasize the need for checks and balances in political systems and highlight how absolute power leads to corruption in authoritarian regimes.