Invest KOREA

As an Honorary Ambassador for Foreign Investment Promotion for Korea, Mr. Tim Yeo is dedicated to serve as a bridge between Korea and the United Kingdom

Mr. Tim Yeo, Chairman of New Nuclear Watch Europe and Chairman of the University of Sheffield Energy 2050 Industrial Advisory Board, was appointed an Honorary Ambassador of Foreign Investment Promotion for Korea in February. Since his inauguration, Mr. Yeo is more determined than ever to strengthen the relationship between Korea and the United Kingdom. We talked with the newly appointed ambassador on what he hopes to achieve during his term and gives advice on what Korea can do to make itself a more appealing investment destination.

Please tell us about yourself.

I am a former member of Parliament, former UK Government Minister of the Environment and former chair of the UK Parliament Energy and Climate Change Select Committee. Since retiring from Parliament last year I have focused on the business and academic worlds. I am a director of Groupe Eurotunnel SE, the large French company which operates the tunnel under the English Channel linking the UK with the rest of Europe, and Chairman of AFC Energy plc, a British company which is developing a hydrogen fuel cell. I am Chairman of New Nuclear Watch Europe, a consortium of companies in the nuclear industry, including the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), which campaigns for more investment in new nuclear plants. I am also Chairman of the University of Sheffield Energy 2050 Industrial Advisory Board and work as a consultant on various energy and climate change issues in Europe and Asia, including projects for the World Bank on carbon markets. I am a graduate of Cambridge University and have lived and worked in London most of my life. Before entering politics I worked in investment banking in London and New York.

Why did you want to be an Honorary Ambassador of Foreign Investment Promotion for Korea and what would you like to accomplish?

I want to be the Honorary Ambassador because I greatly admire the astonishing growth of the Korean economy in the last sixty years. I respect the high priority which Korea attaches to education and its successful adoption of high tech solutions to a variety of economic and other challenges. I welcome the positive emphasis which Korea places on the importance of free trade. I would like to make companies and people in the UK more aware of Korea and its enormous economic achievements in the last half century.

Speaking of the New Nuclear Watch Europe, please tell us more in detail what it’s doing to fight climate change. Based on your expertise, what can companies in Asia and Europe do to combat climate change?

New Nuclear Watch Europe (NNWE) is campaigning for more investment in new nuclear plant across Europe and elsewhere. NNWE believes that more use of civil nuclear power cuts greenhouse gas emissions and thereby helps to address the threat of climate change. NNWE seeks to encourage countries to make greater use of nuclear power and to switch away from using fossil fuels to generate electricity. To achieve this aim, as Chairman of NNWE, I attend and speak at many international conferences and events, and this year I have represented NNWE at events in France, Germany, South Africa and Russia as well as many in London.

My experience has taught me that companies in both Asia and Europe can combat climate change directly in several ways. Improving energy efficiency, cutting the carbon footprint of their business models and deploying low carbon technologies are some of the ways to do this. Companies can publish details of the greenhouse gas emissions for which they are directly responsible and identify publicly the measures they have taken to reduce these. Companies can also encourage their employees and customers to make low carbon choices in their daily lives.

How interested are companies from your country in investing in Korea?

Companies from the UK are interested in investing in Korea because the prospects for growth are good, the regulatory and tax climate is favourable and there is a very well educated workforce. Following the referendum last month in which a majority voted for the UK to leave the EU the interest of UK companies in Korea is likely to increase significantly.

What sort of support to investors from the UK want from Korea? What sort of opportunities or sectors of Korea are they most interested in?

Investors from the UK want to be able to recruit from a well-educated and skilled workforce. They want access to a first class transport and IT infrastructure. They want stable legal, regulatory and taxation systems within which to work.

They will be interested in industries where Korean consumers have positive attitudes towards British brands and technologies. In industries such as energy they will also be interested in areas where Korea offers support for emerging technologies.

What advice would you give investors from the UK seeking to do business in Korea?

My advice for investors from my country who wish to do business in Korea is to study the local markets, spend some time visiting the country and understanding what drives business and consumer attitudes.

What can Korea do to become a more ideal investment destination for foreign companies?

Northeast Asia can become a more ideal investment destination for European companies firstly by demonstrating that it has legal, regulatory, employment, immigration and taxation policies which are more attractive to foreign investors than those of other regions; secondly through the availability of skilled workers and a modern competitive IT and transport infrastructure; thirdly by willingness to welcome foreign brands and technologies. Easy and good access to information about local market conditions is also valuable.

What are your hopes for investment relations between the two regions?

I hope that investment relations between the two countries will now become much closer. A big opportunity has been created by the prospect of UK leaving the EU. If a free trade agreement between the two countries comes into operation as soon as UK leaves the EU then trade between the two countries and investment in both directions should grow quickly. I hope this will include service industries as well as manufacturing. I believe that Korea's approach to business is compatible with that of the UK and this background will promote closer relations.

By Esther Oh (estheroh@kotra.or.kr)
Executive Consultant/Invest Korea