Summit diplomacy has been key to economic recovery

Summit diplomacy has been key to economic recovery

President Lee Myung-bak has made over 20 overseas visits and has invited more than 50 foreign heads to Seoul over the past two years since he took office on Feb. 25, 2008, according to the 48th emergency economic council held at the Korea Development Institute on Thursday (Feb. 25).


The meeting, presided over by President Lee, took place on the day marking the second anniversary of Lee’s inauguration.

At the meeting, five ministries -- the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, and the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries -- reported Lee administration’s diplomatic achievements made in the past two years.

President Lee’s visits to four major powers surrounding the Korean Peninsula -- the United States, Japan, China and Russia -- and other Asian countries have strengthened Korea’s strategic cooperative relationships with its neighbors, and other visits took Lee to Latin America, the countries in the Pacific and the Middle East, the ranking officials present at the meeting said.

Such active summit diplomacy has not only helped Korea recover from the economic crisis earlier than others, but has also laid the groundwork for the country’s sustainable economic development, the officials explained.

Lee administration stabilized the domestic financial market by arranging currency swap deals with the United States, Japan and China, and elevated Korea’s stance into the center of the world economy by hosting the fifth G20 meeting during Lee’s visit to Pittsburgh in September last year, they said.

The officials highly evaluated the nuclear energy development contract which Korea had clinched with the United Arab Emirates in December 2009. The contract is expected to increase exports of domestically developed nuclear technology in the future, they said.

Through the overseas visits, they said, President Lee expanded Korea’s export markets of high value-added products, such as Wireless Broadband (WiBro), DMB and IPTV, and wrapped up FTA negotiations with India and the European Union.

Meanwhile, President Lee at the council said that the Korean people’s dynamic nature had enabled the success of Korean athletes in Vancouver and led to top-rate products that Korean companies are selling worldwide. This dynamic nature should be properly utilized to foster the country’s economic growth, create more jobs and advance the date of the reunification of the two Koreas, he emphasized.

Korea's budgetary soundness ranked 4th among OECD members

Korea's budgetary soundness ranked 4th among OECD members

In the midst of one of the worst economic crises, governments worldwide took expansionary fiscal measures in 2009. The Korean government also disbursed a massive amount of funds in similar efforts. But the country's budgetary soundness has been favorably assessed, according to a recent report from the OECD.

According to the OECD's March report "Preparing Fiscal Consolidation," the "actual balance" of Korea’s budget (expressed in terms of percentage of nominal/potential GDP) in 2009 stood at -1.8, fourth healthiest after Norway (9.6), Switzerland (-0.7) and New Zealand (-1.2).


The average of OECD members' actual balance was tallied at -8.2.
Of the countries which recorded worse numbers in their actual balance in 2009 were many advanced nations which went through IMF bailout programs or had welfare-related budget problems, including Greece (-15.7) and Iceland (-12.7)

The figures for the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain and Japan were -12.6, -11.2, -9.6 and -7.4, respectively.
The report also forecast the post-crisis budget balances of the 16 G-20 nations, and Korea was among the only countries which are expected to record a surplus in 2010 and 2011.
Korea's projected budget surplus for 2011 is 1.1 percent, while budget balances of most of the other 15 OECD member nations were forecast to be under zero: China (-0.3 percent), Brazil (-1.8 percent), India (-8.2 percent), the United States (-9.4 percent) and the United Kingdom (-12.5 percent).

The report said that countries such as the United States, Japan, France and the United Kingdom, whose budget deficits are projected to exceed 6 percent of GDP in 2011, would have to consolidate by 6 percent of GDP or more in order to deliver a balanced budget by 2017.

Meanwhile, Korea's debt-to-GDP ratio is low compared to other advanced economies.

The Korea Institute of Public Finance said in its recent report that Korea’s debt ratio grew from 30.7 percent in late 2007 to 35.6 percent in 2009, but that the hike is forecast to slow and peak at 36.1 percent in 2010, before decreasing to 35.9 percent by 2013.

The average debt-to-GDP ratio of G-20 nations was as high as 62.4 percent in late 2007, which increased to 75.1 percent in 2009, and is likely to reach 85.9 percent in 2014, according to the institute.

Korea pursues green technology development

Korea pursues green technology development
 
In August 2009, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Achim Steiner said he hoped Korea would become the first green tiger in the world. That remark came after the UNEP's evaluation report that highly praised Korea's leadership in diverting national growth from a quantitative to a qualitative paradigm.

Since Korean President Lee Myung-bak proclaimed the new national vision of "low carbon & green growth" on the Aug. 15 anniversary of National Liberation Day in 2008, awareness of eco-friendly growth among the public has grown and related laws and regulations have been reshaped.
The aforementioned remarks by the UNEP seem to well reflect such efforts made by the Korean government and its people.

Korea has grabbed the international spotlight by moving forward as an IT powerhouse and if it gains a further reputation as a "green tiger," the country will once again become a role model in the international community.

The Korean government has not only established the Presidential Committee on Green Growth, following President Lee's ”green” proclamation, but has also legislated the "low carbon & green growth basic law" in a bid to prepare for mid- and long-term development policies.
The green technology market in Korea is expected to earn US$230 billion worth of profits by 2020 after growing 13.2 percent every year, while the international market will grow to $5.6 trillion in profits by 2020.

42% of officials report decline in assets

The personal assets of almost half of the country’s top public officials contracted last year amid the economic slowdown, a government ethics committee said yesterday.

Out of the 1,851 highest-ranking officials including the president required to disclose their asset portfolios, 42 percent reported reductions, according to the annual report of the Public Service Ethics Committee.

The number was a slight increase from 40.5 percent in the 2008 filings.

The committee said the loss was mainly due to the downturn in real estate markets last year.

The average value of the officials’ assets, including those of their spouses, was 1.28 billion won ($1.14 million), down from 1.29 billion won in 2008.

The personal wealth of President Lee Myung-bak declined by 30.7 billion won from 2008 to 4.9 billion won last year, the largest reduction in assets among the nation’s top officials.

The president last year donated more than 33.2 billion won, or more than 90 percent of his life’s savings, to a scholarship foundation, with the exception of a house to retire in.

Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye, who was the wealthiest presidential secretary with 9.73 billion won assets in 2008, suffered the biggest loss of 1.87 billion won.

Kim was followed by Kwon Gwang-taek, a North Chungcheong Province councilor, and Lee Young-geun, vice president of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, who reported losses of 1.67 billion won and 753 million won, respectively.

All three officials appeared to have run into similar bad luck in the real estate market, the report said.

The report said, however, that the other 58 percent of top officials saw their assets increase, largely thanks to gains in their stock investments.

Ji Jeong-gu, an Incheon City councilman, reported the highest increase by 4.6 billion won, followed by Kim Ki-soo, former presidential secretary, and Culture Minister Yu In-chon.

The situation in the National Assembly was reversed according to a separate report from the parliamentary ethics committee. Over 50 percent of the 293 legislators subject to wealth disclosure became richer last year.

Out of the 156 lawmakers who reported increased assets, 71 said their portfolios grew by 100 million won or more.

More than half of them, or 40 lawmakers, belonged to the ruling Grand National Party. Especially, Rep. Kim Se-yeon of the GNP reported wealth of 93.5 billion won, up by 60.4 billion won, the biggest increase among the lawmakers.

Despite almost 200 billion won loss, GNP Chairman Chung Mong-joon, a son of Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-young, remained the wealthiest lawmaker, with assets worth 1.45 trillion won.

Korea-China-Japan Cultural Ministerial Meeting

Korea-China-Japan Cultural Ministerial Meeting

○ When	Dec. 24-26, 2008
○ Where	Jejudo (island)
○ Overview
Korean Culture Minister Yu In-chon (center) holds hands with his counterparts from China and Japan. (Photo: Yonhap) Korea, China and Japan concurred to advance their cultural ties one step further at a tripartite ministerial meeting held in Jejudo, Korea's southernmost resort island, on Dec. 26. Korean Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In-chon, Chinese Cultural Minister Cai Wu, and Japanese Commissioner for the Cultural Affairs Agency Tamotsu Aoki adopted a joint declaration, rounding up their 3-day meeting. The joint declaration stated that Korea, Japan and China will cooperate to create common cultural values by enhancing mutual understanding of each culture. The three agreed to work together to preserve their cultural assets, enlarge related human resources network, expand exchange between young people through the Internet and intensify intellectual property rights protection, said the declaration. The Korea-China-Japan Cultural Ministerial Meeting was the second such event following the one held in China's Nantong City in September 2007.

Changwon hosts Ramsar Convention 2008

Changwon hosts Ramsar Convention 2008

○ When	Oct. 28 to Nov. 4, 2008
○ Where	Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do
○ Overview
President LeeMyung-bakdelivers a congratulatory speech at the opening ceremony of Ramsar Convention 2008 which began in Changwon,Gyeongsangnam-do (South Gyeongsang Province), on Oct. 28. The 10th meeting of member nations of the Ramsar Convention, the international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of natural wetlands, was held in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea, from Oct. 28 to Nov. 4, 2008. Since wetlands cover a broad spectrum of nature, from rivers and peat-land to dams or artificial reservoirs, the Ramsar Convention is considered a gathering to discuss all environmental issues, and meetings are held every three years to discuss challenges, achievements and recommendations to protect the wetlands of the 158 member countries. At the meeting, the participants adopted a "Changwon Declaration" under the theme of "Healthy Wetland, Healthy People." They also adopted a resolution on the enhancement of biodiversity in rice fields as wetland systems. These two are expected to be crucial to raising the status of Korea internationally.

The Future of the Internet Economy - OECD IT Ministerial Meeting

The Future of the Internet Economy - OECD IT Ministerial Meeting

○ When	June 17-18, 2008
○ Where	Seoul
○ Overview
Korea successfully hosted the OECD IT ministerial meeting on June 16-18, 2008 in Seoul. It marks the recognition of the fact that Korea has emerged as an IT superpower with high Internet penetration and advanced IT technology. It is the first time that such an OECD ministerial meeting is being held in Asia. It is pertinent to note that more than three quarters of all households in Korea have high-speed Internet, which is higher than any other country in the world. The meeting participants, including 34 ministerial officials, adopted the Seoul Declaration at the end of the meeting. To download the full text, click here For more information about the meeting, click here.