Lead-off Statement
by H.E. Yoo Chong-ha
at 
the 8th APEC Ministerial Meeting

November 22, 1996 Manila, Philippines

(Greeting)

1. On behalf of the Korean delegation, I would like to express our sincere appreciation to the Government 
and people of the Republic of the Philippines for the warm hospitality extended to us and also for the
excellent arrangements made for this Meeting.

2. I am confident, Mr. Chairman, that under your experienced guidance, this Meeting will produce meaningful 
results and contribute to the dynamic progress of APEC.

3. My delegation is thankful to H.E. President Fidel V. Ramos for giving us this morning in his very clear and 
articulate speech the direction that APEC needs to take in order to maintain its dynamism and relevance in 
building Asia-Pacific community.

(Manila Action Plan for APEC)

4. My delegation highly values the draft Manila Action Plan for APEC (MAPA) both in structure and elements, 
and supports its adoption at this Meeting and its presentation to the Economic Leaders for endorsement.

5. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Philippine Chair and Senior Officials of the 
member economies for the hard work and ingenuity they have put into this difficult but crucial task of drafting 
the Manila Action Plan for APEC (MAPA).

6. With the adoption of Manila Action Plan for APEC (MAPA), APEC now evolves from a forum of vision into
theatre for action. MAPA represents a momentous step of translating into action APEC's vision, goal and
agenda established in Seattle, Bogor and Osaka.

7. It is a source of satisfaction to note that the Individual Action Plans (IAPs), a major element of MAPA, 
further advance our commitments in Osaka with their significant liberalization measures, particularly in
removing tariff and non-tariff barriers and market opening in services. I believe the Action Plans demonstrate 
the firm determination of the APEC member economies to achieve the goal of free and open trade. 

(Korea's IAP)

8. In line with our national policy of globalization, Korea has undertaken a wide range of deregulation and
market opening measures in an effort to improve its economic performance with enhanced competitiveness.

9. With a view to contributing to the APEC liberalization process, the Korean government has submitted a
credible Action Plan this year. Major features of our IAP are, inter alia:Abolishing quotas by the year 2001
except for rice, - Liberalizing 92 additional business sectors for foreign investment by the year 2000, 
- Opening market in service sectors such as air-freight handling, legal, accounting, distribution and
construction services.

(Consultation and Review of IAPs) 

10. Korea's IAP is quite substantial and far-reaching. And it will continue to be further developed through
'consultation and review' process. My delegation believes that APEC's mechanism of 'consultation and
review' should be put into active use in order to concert and improve the voluntary and unilateral initiatives 
of the member economies.

11. For the review process of IAPs, the views of the private sector could be taken into account in the APEC's 
review mechanism. The Ministers and Senior Officials are poised to avail themselves of useful inputs from 
the business sector.

(Conclusion)

12. I would like to reaffirm Korea's commitment to the APEC liberalization process. In light of the cooperation 
demonstrated in drawing up credible IAPs and growing spirit of the APEC community, I am quite optimistic 
about the successful implementation of the Manila Action Plan for APEC. The Republic of Korea for its part 
will continue to cooperate closely with the other APEC members in our common efforts to achieve free and 
open trade and investment in the region.