Tuesday, October 4, 2011 A13
SPONSORED SUPPLEMENT: NATIONAL DAY – THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Ever since consular relations were first established on May 1, 1949, Korea and Hong Kong have been developing bilateral relations at a remarkable pace in various areas, including the economy, trade, culture, sports and people-to- people exchanges.
Korea and Hong Kong, as the advanced and dynamic societies in Asia, led high-growth industrialisation in the 1960s. They also shared experiences of successfully overcoming the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the global financial crisis in 2008.
As you are all aware, more challenges, beginning with the European fiscal crisis, are before us.
However, I am quite sure that Korea and Hong Kong can turn crisis into
opportunity through mutually strong collaboration.
By the end of last year, Hong Kong had become the fourth largest export market and the fifth largest destination of overseas investment for Korea. The peoples are becoming familiar with each other’s culture, arts, food and drink, and fashion designs. More than 1 million people travel between Korea and Hong Kong every year.
The Korean consul general in Hong Kong hosted a seminar on corporate social responsibility in May, through which Korean companies doing business here could raise their awareness of the importance of their collaboration with the Hong Kong community. The Korean community hosted a charity concert in early June, to share the sweet and bitter sides of life with the people of Hong Kong.
I believe the two events were meaningful occasions for the communities to promote mutual understanding and friendship.
Hong Kong’s status as a world-class financial, trading and business centre has been made possible by factors such as an efficient government, well- established legal system, free trade and market system, and its location as the premier gateway to the mainland.
There is, indeed, good reason for optimism for the future of Korea-Hong Kong relations.
The first “seminar on yuan internationalisation” was jointly hosted by the Korean consul general and the Bank of China (Hong Kong) last week.
The seminar can be seen as an important milestone in the history of relations between Korea and Hong Kong in that it was a first attempt to
explore ways to upgrade bilateral relations, building on Hong Kong’s position as an offshore yuan centre.
Just 60 years ago, the international community eyed the Republic of Korea with sympathy and pity. The image of a destitute Korea devastated by division and war is now nowhere to be found.
The Republic of Korea is expected to become a member of the trillion-dollar trade countries club by the end of this year. The country also successfully hosted the G20 Summit and took the initiative in proposing the development agenda for the first time.
The Republic of Korea has responded to climate change by laying out the vision of green growth, and it will be one of only five countries to have hosted all the major sporting events – the summer and winter Olympics, the Fifa World Cup and the world championship in athletics – by winning the bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
The Republic of Korea is now enchanting millions of young people around the world with its K-pop.
Over the past 60 years, South Korea and North Korea have lived in conflict.
Now is the time to open up an age of peace and co-operation. It is incumbent for the two sides to build trust with responsible deeds and a sincere stance.
The two sides should bring about peace based on trust, pursuing common prosperity through bilateral co- operation. Our humanitarian assistance and support for North Korea will be continued. I would like to express gratitude for major neighbouring countries, including China, to have made strenuous efforts to establish peace and prosperity on the Korean peninsula.
Jun Ok-hyun
Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Hong Kong
MESSAGE
S
cenes of Hong Kong tourists scooping up make- up products in department stores in Seoul are commonplace. Thanks to the popularity of Korean pop songs, beauty and fashion brands, and the Korean government’s initiative in developing tourism products, including wedding photography tours, the country has become a hot holiday destination for Hongkongers.According to the consul general of Korea in Hong Kong, the number of Hongkongers visiting Korea last year rose to 229,000, a near 6 per cent increase from the previous year. The number of Koreans coming to Hong Kong reached 891,000, a 43.9 per cent jump from the year before.
The Visit Korea Year Campaign, from last year to the end of 2012, has been tailored to meet the needs of Hong Kong tourists. This year, major events include the IAAF World Championships and Korean Formula One Grand Prix in Taegu, the Hallyu Dream Festival in
Gyeongju and the International Fireworks Festival in Pusan.
Educational tours are also on the rise. “To enhance mutual
understanding by facilitating exchange between young people and create employment
opportunities, the Korean and Hong Kong governments signed the Working Holiday agreement last year,” says Deputy Consul General Shin Chae-hyun. There are 118 flights between the two countries each week.
The economic relationship between the two communities thrives as much as the cultural bonds. Korea ranks seventh in the world’s export market, leading the field in LCD, semi-conductor chips and shipping. To Korea, Hong Kong is a well-developed trade outpost and a springboard to promote its business opportunities into the Pearl River Delta and within the
mainland.
“Korea and Hong Kong are each other’s sixth largest trade partners, and trade has reached US$27 billion,” says Consul for Commerce Park Jae-young.
The strategic importance of economic co-operation has increased thanks to the mainland’s growing demand for goods and services, the trend for the yuan’s internationalisation, and the establishment of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement between Hong Kong and China, he adds.
“Hong Kong’s influence as an offshore centre for yuan cross- border settlement is increasing. As a gateway to the Chinese market, its strategic importance has been enhanced,” Park says.
Consul for Finance Kim Jung- woon says the Korea Financial Supervisory Commission works
closely with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in global finance. In 2006, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to share data, hold joint audit meetings and run employee exchanges. “Korea has initiated close co-operation with
international finance enterprises.
There are now 28 Korean financial companies, including 11 Korean
banks and 12 Korean security firms, that have established their regional offices in Hong Kong,”
he says.
On the humanitarian side, the consul general of Korea in Hong Kong presented prizes earlier this year to Korean companies, Samsung and Woori Bank, acknowledging their voluntary work at care centres for the elderly and orphanages in the city, and their dedication to the needy in Hong Kong.
“Through hosting seminars and events on corporate social responsibility, the consul general [works towards] deepening collaboration between Korean and Hong Kong companies, enhancing the awareness of the [former to contribute] more to the city and people of Hong Kong,” Park says.
Meanwhile, Shin says Korea and
China have upgraded bilateral relations to the highest level of Strategic Co-operative Partnership through the joint declaration made by President Lee Myung-bak and President Hu Jintao in 2008.
The declaration not only confirmed the importance of the relationship, he adds, it laid a foundation for the future of the strategic partnership between the two countries, as next year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.
“Korea and China share cultural commonness in many aspects with geographical proximity. China is Korea’s largest trading partner, its bilateral trade with China has exceeded US$200 billion, and there are more than 6 million people visiting each other every year,”
he says.
While Hongkongers flock to
Korea to buy the latest products, the traffic moving in the
other direction is even busier
Korean capital Seoul is home to more than 10 million people and a favourite destination for Hongkongers.
Partnership strengthens
President Hu Jintao (left) and President Lee Myung-bak
28 Korean financial companies have regional offices in Hong Kong
KIM JUNG-WOON, CONSUL FOR FINANCE
