President Lee Myung-bak underlined stronger ties with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in an interview with journalists from ASEAN nations on May 18. Korea is scheduled to host a special summit with ASEAN countries early next month on June 1 and 2.
“This year we declared a new Asian diplomacy, with a plan to further enhance ties with neighboring Asian nations in various sectors, beyond that of economic cooperation,” President Lee said. He especially emphasized joint efforts to overcome the global financial crisis and the good results that came from past discussion, including the Chiang Mai Initiative, extension of the regional bond market and resistance to all forms of trade protectionism.
“Korea has suggested the extension of the bond market in Asia. There will be specific discussions around it in the upcoming meeting,” the president added.
Green growth is a must, the president emphasized, saying that the Korean government has set aside US$200 million for an East Asia Climate Partnership fund for the future with ASEAN countries.
The president also went on to say that the Korean government is making active efforts to resolve the liquidity crisis and pushing for corporate restructuring. Through tax reductions and other budgetary measures the government is also disbursing expenditure amounting to 4 percent of the GDP to revitalize the economy, Lee said.
Journalists from the 10 ASEAN countries arrived in Korea on May 17. During their four day stay they will also covered the overall preparation for the Korea-ASEAN summit and looked into other general features of Korea including its culture, tourism and infrastructure.
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The following is a list of questions and answers between the ASEAN journalists and President Lee.
Q (Philippines): It's been 20 years since the establishment of dialogue between Korea and ASEAN nations. What are the achievements and future prospects?
A (President): According to last year's statistics ASEAN is Korea's third largest trading partner. As Korea and ASEAN are expected to sign a bilateral investment treaty at the coming summit that allows free trade, we expect cooperation between two sides to intensify. Rapid progress will be made in exchanges of culture, tourism and other areas.
Q (Myanmar): What is the special agenda for the special summit next month?
A (President): Korea aims for closer ties with ASEAN countries and intends to make that happen during the special summit, especially in the area of green growth.
Q (Laos): What ideas do you have for Korea-ASEAN cooperation to overcome the current economic crisis?
A (President): Recently Korea has set aside $19 billion for the Chiang Mai Initiative, and there will be more discussions for actual implementation. There's been an agreement between the leaders to extend the Asian bond market and it is also important for all to agree on resisting trade protectionism.
Q (Malaysia): What are Korea's measures to overcome the economic crisis?
A (President): According to the reviews of press or related institutions overseas, Korea is doing relatively well in dealing with the crisis. Cleaning up non-performing loans, corporate restructuring, active budgeting and tax reduction have all helped.
Q (Brunei): What are the plans to improve ties with Brunei?
A (President): Korea aims to build relations not only in the field of energy cooperation, but also in long-term energy development as well.
Q (Indonesia): What are the plans for Korea and Indonesia to become all around trade partners?
A (President): Last March when I visited Indonesia, Korea and Indonesia agreed to cooperate in forest development, energy and IT. Since Korea already has over 1,300 Korean companies operating there, the field of cooperation will go beyond natural resources.
Q (Singapore): What are Korea's measures to boost cooperation with Singapore?
A (President) We plan to advance ties particularly in sectors like administration, education and finance.
Q (Thailand): Despite the global financial crisis the number of tourists coming to Korea is on the increase. What is the strategy for Korea's tourism industry?
A (President): Korea is a country with four distinct seasons and climate that is very different from that of the ASEAN countries. Korea also has a unique culture of its own that clearly differentiates itself from China or Japan. We plan to attract tourists from Southeast Asia with our own unique culture and natural environment, among other features.
Q (Cambodia): What are the measures to extend the concept of Hallyu (Korean Wave)?
A (President): First, I would like to extend my gratitude to state-run media for broadcasting Korean dramas. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that a minister of Cambodia knew more about Korean actors and singers than me.
I, myself, watched the Thai action movie Ong Bak 1 and 2. Korea plans to make dramas and movies made in joint production with ASEAN countries and other active exchanges to introduce Korean culture.
Q (Vietnam): What are the measures to extend cultural exchanges between Korea and Vietnam?
A (President): The two countries share a similarity in history and national sentiment. I believe cultural exchange between Korea and Vietnam should catch up to the speed of economic cooperation between two countries.
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