S. Korea to Help N. Korea Plant More Trees

By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter

South Korea will initiate a campaign to help North Korea plant more trees on the occasion of Arbor Day, which falls on April 5.

Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Lee Dong-kwan unveiled the plan after President Lee Myung-bak received a briefing from his secretary Wednesday.

The spokesman said helping North Korea to plant more trees is one of President Lee's campaign pledges.

He said the South will send seedlings to the North but no details were given as to whether or when the two Koreas will meet for the forestry project.

The spokesman said when the Kyoto Protocol takes effect, the South can buy the right to emit CO2 from North Korea.

Meanwhile, President Lee is considering setting up a hotline between himself and chief executive officers (CEOs) in the business sector.

Business organizations welcomed the move, describing it as a manifestation of the spirit of pragmatism and the breaking of customs. ``It is a clear sign of Lee's determination to create a favorable climate for businesses at an early date,'' said Lee Seung-chul, executive director of the Federation of Korean Industries.

As part of his commitment to business-friendly policies, the President plans to carry a mobile phone to listen to company owners' difficulties and proposals directly, Lee's aides said Wednesday.

Cheong Wa Dae had originally considered establishing a wired hotline system for his talks with business leaders. But complying with Lee's intention to talk to entrepreneurs even after regular working hours, the presidential office decided to adopt a cell phone-hotline system.

A Cheong Wa Dae official said Lee will have his secretaries carry the phone in the daytime and take the phone to his residence at night.

``The President's phone number will be confidentially offered to a limited number of entrepreneurs and business organizations,'' he said.

The plan for a hotline with CEOs was one of his campaign pledges.

Lee, who vowed to become a CEO-style head of the state, has said he was impressed by a Dubai leader who talked directly to company owners on a cell phone during his visit to the Middle East.

Simultaneously, Lee was poised to set up a hotline between Cheong Wa Dae and unions. But the system will now be set up for talks between union leaders and presidential officials.

The President has pledged to broaden the dialogue channel between labor and the next government by setting up an entity to effectively settle disputes.

Meanwhile, spokesman Lee denied a daily newspaper report alleging that Lee turned down an offer of dialogue from North Korea in January.

``North Korea has not made any official proposal for dialogue with Lee,'' he said. ``The newspaper report may be based on speculation linked to a variety of unofficial dialogue channels between the two Koreas.''

kys@koreatimes.co.kr

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