1. Mr. Noh Young-min, Chief of Staff to the President, attended the inauguration ceremony of President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo, which took place in Jakarta at 15:30-17:00, October 20, local time, as special envoy of the President. 

° The inauguration ceremony was attended by special delegations of 18 countries, including the United States, the People’s Republic of China and Japan. Also among the attendees were the leaders of Malaysia, the Republic of Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, and the Commonwealth of Australia.

° In particular, during his meetings with special delegations of ASEAN member countries to the inauguration ceremony, special envoy Noh Young-min asked for continued attention and cooperation toward the success of the 2019 ASEAN-Republic of KOREA (ROK) Commemorative Summit and the 1st Mekong-ROK Summit, set to take place in Busan on November 25-27.

° The leaders of ASEAN member countries mentioned that they are looking forward to their visits to Busan in November and will extend strong support for the success of the 2019 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit and the 1st Mekong-ROK Summit.

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2. After the inauguration ceremony, special envoy Noh Young-min paid a courtesy call on President Joko Widodo. During the courtesy call, the special envoy relayed warm greetings from President Moon Jae-in and handed President Moon’s letter, in which he expressed hope to further deepen and advance the ROK-Indonesia special strategic partnership and to meet once again with President Joko Widodo at the 2019 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit. The special envoy also asked for the Indonesian government’s continued support for the peace process on the Korean Peninsula and expressed hope that Indonesia would further its prosperity during the tenure of President Joko Widodo.

3. Indonesia is one of the ROK’s major partners for its New Southern Policy. Through active summit exchanges during the tenure of President Joko Widodo, the two countries took their relations to their highest level, including by upgrading them to “special strategic partnership,” which marks the only such case with an ASEAN member country.

4. Earlier in the day, special envoy Noh Young-min had a luncheon meeting with Korean entrepreneurs doing business in Indonesia. During the meeting, the special envoy stressed that their extraordinary pioneering efforts facilitated the advancement of the ROK-Indonesia relations to the highest level; listened to their challenges; and mentioned that the ROK government will continue strong efforts under its New Southern Policy to give practical support to the Korean entrepreneurs to ensure that they do business in a favorable environment in Indonesia.

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° The Korean entrepreneurs noted that currently, about 2,100 Korean companies are carrying out mutually beneficial and cooperative economic activities, including by creating 1 million jobs in Indonesia. They added that the companies, on their part, will do their utmost for a successful implementation of the New Southern Policy in a range of areas, including automobiles, steel, chemicals, finance and electricity.