Date
2012.09.20
South Korea's vice finance minister asked for American businesses on Friday to increase investment here, touting the domestic market as a future "gateway" to many other Asian countries.
In his speech to American corporate leaders and businesspeople in Seoul, Shin Je-yoon also expected South Korea and the United States will beef up cooperation in the energy and resources sectors.
"South Korea is not just geopolitically located near China and other Asian countries. In addition, it has signed a free trade agreement with ASEAN countries and already launched free trade talks with China," he said.
"Korea will become a gateway and a strong advanced base that leads to the other Asian markets. I believe this is yet another chance that the free trade pact between Korea and the U.S. can provide and I also expect more American companies to use the pact as a chance to invest in Korea," he added.
The U.S. is the second-largest trading partner for South Korea after China. Last year, trade between South Korea and the U.S. totaled US$108 billion.
Both signed an FTA in 2007, but it was in March this year that the two eventually enforced the deal intended to lower tariff barriers on bilateral trade.
Shin emphasized the importance of full utilization of the trade deal by businesspeople in order to attain its intended impact on the economies of the two countries.
Citing green energy expertise of the U.S. and top-class technologies in smart grids and IT owned by Korea, he also called for more cooperation in the energy and resources areas, expecting that both can make the best partners in the green energy sector.
He especially proposed working together on developing shale gas, which is emerging as a future energy source, mentioning the Seoul government's move to encourage local companies to join the effort through diverse incentives.