As delivered
Opening Remarks
By H.E. Mr. Lee Taeho
 Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea
KOREA-U.S. Public Private Joint Economic Forum 2018
 6 December 2018, Washington D.C.

Congressman Don Beyer,
Ambassador Kathleen Stephens, President of the Korea Economic Institute
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
 
Good morning. 
I would like to welcome all of you to the 2018 Korea-US Public-Private Joint Economic Forum and extend my deep gratitude to all the participants for being with us today.  I am very pleased to see this year’s Forum taking place here in Washington D.C., following last year’s fruitful discussion in Seoul.
Not only the venue, but the juncture of this Forum is also meaningful. Over the last one year, Korea and the United States have worked together to overcome a number of challenges we faced.  Our ironclad alliance served as a solid basis on which both countries did so wonderfully.
On the economic side, most prominent was our common effort to amend the KORUS FTA in a reciprocal manner.  When Korea and the United States embarked on the negotiations to amend the FTA at the start of this year, many had concerns regarding the future of our economic relationship. However, based on the strong trust built up over the last 65 years, both countries could address each other’s concerns in good faith and resolve differences, thereby successfully reaching the new agreement.

 
Having fulfilled this significant mission, I believe now is the time to open a new chapter in the Korea-US economic relationship. I am confident that today's Forum will let us reflect on the ways and means we can explore to deepen our relationship.
 
Today, I would like to elaborate on the three distinct layers of cooperation framework, under which Korea and the United States can “go together” into the future.
The first layer is, of course, the one that we are familiar with: the bilateral economic interactions between Korea and the United States.  As I just mentioned, the amended KORUS FTA is now ready for ratification and hopefully will enter into force soon. I am confident that our trade in goods and services as well as investment will keep thriving on the basis of the new FTA in a balanced manner. 
Let me briefly show you the picture of what the KORUS FTA brought about for last seven years since it took effect in 2011. Merchandise trade between our two countries increased by 19%, amounting to 119 billion dollars in 2017.  Besides, in the same period, Korea invested over 80 billion dollars into the US industries. For seven years in a row, the United States has been ranked as Korea’s top investment destination. 
Furthermore, I would like to draw your attention to the reciprocal nature of KORUS FTA. In 2017, Korea’s trade surplus with the United States decreased by 23% compared to the previous year. It marked the largest decrease of trade surplus among the US’s top 10 trade partners. This demonstrates that the KORUS FTA is now working out in balanced and mutually beneficial ways.

 
Based upon the growing trade and investment, we should now dwell on how to construct a more mature relationship which can proactively address new challenges and opportunities. More number of innovative SMEs, for example, should participate in our economic interactions.
Not only in the trade and investment, but also in the areas not covered by the FTA, such as energy, innovation, space, and science and technology, Korea and the United States have been working together for the mutual benefits.  The bilateral energy cooperation, particularly in the area of LNG, is worthy of special mentioning. As Korea strives to diversify its sources of LNG, the United States has become its new reliable supplier.
This year, Korea’s imports of LNG from the United States amount to 3.8 million metric tons, tripled from the last year.  That makes Korea the largest LNG importer of the United States. Korea’s LNG imports from the United States are likely to further increase in the coming year.  Further to increased trade in LNG between our two countries, more Korean energy companies are making investments in the energy infrastructures in the United States.        
The governments of both countries are poised to facilitate the bilateral economic cooperation in the energy and other sectors by making full use of the existing public frameworks of dialogue in a future-oriented manner, and make sure that these frameworks help the private sector of both countries deepen further their interactions.
 
The second layer is a regional cooperation involving multiple players.  Peace and security in Northeast Asia has always remained an important goal of the Korea-US alliance.  But we cannot afford to limit our horizon to the Northeast Asia. Korea and the United States can foster significant cooperation in a more systemic manner in a broader region — the Indo-Pacific region.  
 

Under the new administration, the Korean Government is pursuing the ‘New Southern Policy’, which aims to build a lasting relationship with ASEAN countries, India and other nations in the Indo-Pacific region under the three principles of people, prosperity and peace.
In this context, Korean government has proactively set up financial budget plan to support this Policy. Korea will double the size of ASEAN-ROK Cooperation Fund from 7 million to 14 million dollars in 2019 and triple Mekong-ROK Cooperation Fund to 3 million dollars in 2020.  Moreover, by 2022 Korea will raise 100 million dollars for ASEAN-Korea Infrastructure Cooperation Fund, and Korea’s ODA to ASEAN region will increase by 2.5 times amounting to 530 million dollars.
I believe that this New Southern Policy shares many common elements with the Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States.  Both initiatives recognize the importance of openness, inclusiveness, respect for rules and transparency in the pursuit of their policy goals of peace and prosperity through free and open development of the region.
The two initiatives will eventually play an important role in filling up the gap in the region’s core need for enhanced connectivity - physical, institutional and human.  These similarities of the two initiatives give us the perfect opportunity to take our cooperation in the region to a new dimension that encompasses the implications in economic terms and in the development field.
The cooperation in the region will not only generate fresh momentum for growth for the countries involved but also allow Korea and the United States to collaborate in areas beyond bilateral issues, jointly addressing regional concerns and contributing to the prosperous future of the Indo-Pacific region. It is my hope that today’s Forum could explore various ideas about specific areas for possible cooperation. 
 
 
The third layer is a global cooperation. Over the recent years, we have broadened and deepened the areas of cooperation under our alliance to address global economic issues and concerns.  Based on the values that both of us share — such as freedom, market economy, democracy, rule of law — we have been cooperating in the areas of development cooperation, the multilateral trading system, anti-corruption,  women’s economic empowerment, global health security, cyber security, fourth industrial revolution, to name a few.   As a matter of fact, our alliance has become a truly global partnership.  Given the topic of today’s Forum, allow me to focus on digital economy which is one of the issues that require a future-oriented cooperative approach.
As underlined in the “APEC Internet and Digital Economy Roadmap 2017” and reaffirmed at this year’s APEC Economic Leaders Meeting, the digital economy brings about fundamental changes in the way businesses and governments operate across all sectors of economies. It creates entirely new markets, businesses and even lifestyles, making world economies more and more intertwined.
This interactive and trans-border nature of digital space brings many difficult issues such as network security, harmonization of regulations, and rights of data subjects. At the same time though, it carries abundant potential for increasing productivity and enabling inclusive growth, generating a great number of new opportunities for various players around the world.
I believe Korea and the United States should pay close attention to this potential, as we both are clear front-runners in this field. Korea has a well-established ICT infrastructure and high Internet penetration rate, which makes it a highly-favored test bed of new technologies and digital services.
The United States is home to many leading companies in the sector, such as Google and Amazon, by virtue of its fertile industrial ecosystem that has nurtured numerous core technologies in emerging fields, such as big data and the IoT (Internet of Things).

 
Given this, the digital economy is a promising field to which the scope of the Korea-U.S. partnership could expand. Digital space is a totally new, shared territory which holds tremendous potential.
 
Ladies and gentlemen,
We are now facing high waves of economic transformation. New players, new regions, and new technologies are emerging. However, fortunately enough, we are not thrown into these waves alone. We have each other and numerous supporters here with us, to sail on side by side.
The United States and Korea can find ways to achieve common prosperity, jointly taking the lead in the global paradigm shift towards the digital economy. It will definitely contribute to bringing our relationship to the next level.
As we strengthen our ties in the three layers I spoke about and together confront the challenges in this world of constant changes, we will be able to further discover the precious opportunities inherent in them.
There is a saying that goes, “The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.” Building upon our shared past and present, we should now explore further ways to deepen our partnership. I look forward to a successful Forum today that will go a long way to strengthen our partnership.
I would like to bring my remarks to a close by offering my sincere gratitude to the Korea Economic Institute, for all their hard work and cooperation in working so graciously with the Korean Embassy in making the arrangements for today’s Forum. My special thanks also go to my friends in the Department of State, for supporting us in every way to make this forum as fruitful as possible.
 
Thank you. 
/End/