Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, now co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, on Aug. 16 will give a speech at the National Assembly in Seoul on the topic "International Cooperation on COVID-19." The photo shows him at the World Economic Forum in May. (Yonhap News)
By Joung Haseung
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and now co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will visit Korea from Aug. 15-17.
He will deliver a speech at the National Assembly in Seoul on international cooperation to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bill Gates will hold talks with National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo on Aug. 16 at 10 a.m., the speaker's office said on Aug. 10. The tech tycoon will later deliver a speech to members at the conference hall of the Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts.
The theme of the speech is the importance of international cooperation in responding to and preparing for COVID-19 and future diseases and Korea's leadership role.
Speaker Kim will be accompanied by Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party; Park Hong-keun, floor leader of the Democratic Party; National Assembly Secretary General Lee Kwang-jae; and Park Kyung-mee, chief of staff at the speaker's office.
Gates will be accompanied by three senior figures from his foundation: Joe Cerrell, managing director for Europe, the Middle East and East Asia; James Carty, interim deputy director of the Middle East and East Asia; and Mihoko Kashiwakura, head of East Asia relations, global policy and advocacy.
This is Gates' first visit to the National Assembly in nine years. In 2013, he went there at the invitation of Chung Mong-joon, then a representative from the Saenuri Party, to speak on "smart aid."
On June 24, Gates in a phone call with President Yoon Suk Yeol discussed the process of overcoming the pandemic and Korea's role in global health cooperation.
The official poster for Bill Gates' speech at the National Assembly. (National Assembly Secretariat)
jhaseung@korea.kr
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