< Table of Contents > ● President Park's Opening Remarks ● Meeting with Global CEOs ● Korea Night in Davos

● President Park's Opening Remarks



The Creative Economy and Entrepreneurship

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. My warm greetings to all of you.

This is an opportune occasion to speak about “entrepreneurship” and the “creative economy.” For in our post-crisis era, the global economy is charting a new course. And many of the global leaders in this audience stand at the forefront of that journey.

Thanks to strong national responses coupled with close international coordination, the global economy is gradually escaping from the crisis.

Yet, countries still experience slow growth. High unemployment is weighing economies down. Income inequality continues to linger.

Making growth sustainable is another task all of us face. As our planet eventually becomes home to 9 billion people, the need to deal with climate change and resource depletion has never been more compelling.

The global financial crisis has brought these issues to the fore. As a matter of fact, they are problems that have been with us well before the crisis. And they lay bare the limitations of our existing paradigm. We must make growth sustainable. We must make growth inclusive. But piecemeal fixes will not do. Macroeconomic policies or labor policies under existing paradigms alone will not do. What we need is nothing short of a paradigm shift. What we now need - and need urgently - is an engine that takes us beyond these constraints; one that transforms the existing order and helps reshape the world.

Korea is seeking that engine in the creative economy.

Ladies and gentlemen, Today, the brilliant idea, creative thought, or new technology of a single individual can help move the world and get nations going.

Since the industrial revolution, the wealth and happiness of nations - of individuals – had been marked by a material divide. Recently, this has given way to a digital divide. The future will be defined by a creative divide.

Whereas existing economies have focused on extracting mineral resources from the ground, creative economies seek to tap into the creativity of the human mind. 

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● Meeting with Global CEOs



President Park Geun-hye held a series of one-on-one meetings yesterday with the CEOs of the major global businesses Qualcomm, Aramco and Siemens. The meetings on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos were arranged as part of the President`s proactive investor relations efforts, which included a January 9 luncheon at Cheong Wa Dae with CEOs of foreign businesses investing in Korea. During the meetings with the three CEOs in Davos, President Park stressed the necessity of boosting business cooperation with Korea and asked them to increase investments in the country.

Notably, the President focused on qualitative growth rather than simply attracting a greater amount of investment, highlighting that such investments should be made in line with Korea’s blueprint for developing the IT, energy and offshore plant engineering sectors. She also explained a variety of efforts made on the part of the Government to attract foreign investment and introduced a number of advantages from concluding FTAs with major markets around the world, including the United States, EU and ASEAN.

At the meeting with Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated and Chairman of the U.S.-Korea Business Council, he and President Park discussed how the Council should work to help expand trade and investment between Korea and the United States. The President also asked him to understand and provide support for the stance of the Korean Government.

On top of this, President Park expounded on the Korean Government’s efforts for a creative economy and economic revitalization and asked the Qualcomm CEO to expand investments in Korea. The President also asked for efforts on the part of U.S. business circles for bilateral collaboration in ICT.

In the meeting with Saudi Aramco CEO Khalid A. Al-Falih, the President asked the CEO to increase investments in Korea through direct participation in Korea’s Northeast Asia oil hub project. They also exchanged ideas on ways for Korean businesses to take part in Aramco’s projects for stable oil supply and plant construction.

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● Korea Night in Davos



President Park Geun-hye urged business leaders of international companies to expand their investment in Korea during the Korea Night 2014 function in Davos, Switzerland, on January 21 (local time in Switzerland). The president was visiting the city after completing her state visit to Switzerland.

Speaking to nearly 400 business people from around the globe, Park said that Korea is an ideal investment destination. She emphasized that Korea has been transforming itself into a better country in which to do business, while mentioning the recent revision of its Foreign Investment Promotion Act. She introduced the Korean government’s administrative initiative to promote the creative industries and its innovative economic development plans and urged the business people to expand their investments in Korea.

Executives and representatives of global companies participating in the World Economic Forum attended the function. World-famous singer Psy also attended Korea Night 2014, acting a promotional ambassador for Korea.

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*Source: http://english.president.go.kr (Cheong Wa Dae Website)