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| President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook hold a moment of silence in front of a stone monument at the Martyrs' Mausoleum in Yangon, Myanmar, Wednesday, that commemorates South Korean victims of an Oct. 9 1983 bombing attack by North Korean agents aimed at assassinating then South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan. Yonhap |
By Kim Yoo-chul
YANGON ― President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday that his administration will help South Korean firms to win contracts in Myanmar as part of his New Southern Policy, aimed at diversifying the country's diplomacy.
"I would say Myanmar has great economic potential. Let's say Myanmar is a last frontier market as it has one of the richest concentrations of natural resources in the ASEAN bloc. More South Korean companies are paying increasing attention to Myanmar's resources," the President said in a speech marking the start of construction of a Korea-Myanmar Industrial Complex, north of Yangon.
He added South Korea will boost bilateral trade specifically participating in needed infrastructure projects here.
Moon visited the complex after meeting Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi in the country's administrative capital city of Naypyitaw, where they signed non-binding MOUs focused mostly on investment between the two countries.
During the speech, Moon said a "one-stop service center" to be set up in the complex will encourage investment from South Korean firms.
"I appreciate Myanmar's decision to operate the Korea Help Desk. It's a very good move and an important step which is beneficial in terms of pursuing sustainable win-win growth for both countries," the President said, adding he thanked Myanmar for its decision to extend visa exemptions for South Koreans for one more year.
Seoul is increasingly looking to benefit from Myanmar's economic potential, as the Southeast Asian country's strategic location between China and India is also a major attraction.
The industrial complex project is a joint venture with Myanmar providing tax and administrative assistance to the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH). At an estimated cost of $11 million, the industrial zone will house small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as heavy industry. Over 200 South Korean firms are expected to invest in production facilities there, which would generate a projected $10 million in taxes, annually, according to data from the Yangon Project Bank.
Myanmar, grappling with international condemnation over its heavy and brutal military crackdown on the Rohingya ethnic group in Rakhine State, has been trying desperately to win more foreign direct investment (FDI) amid growing criticism that its government has been "too slow" in revitalizing the economy.
President Moon, who maintained a "low-key stance" about the Rohingya refugee crisis during his encounter with Aung, mentioned economic figures on Myanmar recently released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) during his speech to stress the need for Seoul's continued participation in business projects here.
The ADB expects Myanmar's economy to grow by 6.6 percent in the fiscal year ending this month and 6.8 percent the year after as it modernizes corporate governance and opens up its industrial sector.
South Korea is Myanmar's sixth-largest source of FDI after China, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. More than 250 South Korean firms operate in the Southeast Asian country including Lotte Group.
Separately, Moon visited the Martyrs' Mausoleum, which is dedicated to Aung's late father, independence hero General Aung San, and other leaders of the pre-independence interim government, all of whom were assassinated on July 19, 1947. He also visited the Korea Memorial Monument there to pay his respects to 17 members of a South Korean delegation who were killed in a 1983 bombing there by North Korea aimed at assassinating then South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan.
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