By Sam Yun
Intern
A high-ranking Korean trade negotiator Tuesday went to work on a motor scooter in his efforts to join a nationwide energy conservation campaign.
Wearing casual white cotton pants, a blue T-shirt and a helmet, Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon drove his scooter to his office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade downtown from his home in eastern Seoul in the morning.
"The scooter has brought me here just in 20 minutes, less than half the 45 minutes spent in my car every morning," Kim told reporters. "I feel very good as the air was fresh and it's even money-saving."
Kim found that a scooter was more attractive to him than a car during his service as diplomat in an African country in early 1980s.
"A scooter is more convenient than the bike I ride in mountain biking on the weekend as it seems suited for a short distance although it is smaller than the latter," Kim said. "I am planning to use the scooter during commuting hours as much as possible."
Kim bought a 125-cc scooter, shortly after returning home from his trip to the Doha round of global trade negotiations, dubbed the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), last week.
Negotiators from key member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) failed to reach a compromise on the thorny agricultural import rules in the latest deal at the headquarters of the WTO in Geneva, July 23-29, with next round unlikely by the end of this year. He had been the chief Korean negotiator in the free trade deal with the United States, whose ratification is still pending at their respective legislatures.
Minister Kim, 56, is reported to like outdoor sports very much, in particular, mountain biking, windsurfing and paragliding, which are not so popular in Korea.