By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Critics say he spends too much time on the golf course, vacations too often on stretches of foreign sand and doesn't do enough given the generous 249,000 pounds ($443,000) yearly allowance he gets to promote British businesses. But His Royal Highness Prince Andrew seen in Korea this week seemed to show and tell more than his stereotypical self.
Over the past three days, the Duke of York traveled 200 miles outside of Seoul to tour the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in Ulsan, then returned to meet with executives of big investors Samsung and LG and take part in serious discussions with the finance minister concerning the financial turmoil shaking up the world.
The globe-trotting prince, who is known to squeeze in a round of golf on most of his trips, apparently did not do so this time around. Instead he demonstrated how ``sales diplomacy'' is done, the British way.
As the UK's special representative for international trade and investment, the Prince, on his third trip to Korea, was dedicated to providing follow-up ``after service'' to companies that are already aggressive investors in the United Kingdom.
For example, he met with LG Electronics' Vice Chairman Nam Yong on the second day of his visit to further cement investment ties with the electronic giant. LG recently opened a mega scale design center in London. It also opened its European headquarters in Slough, also in the U.K. last year.
The prince also met with Samsung Electronics' Vice Chairman Lee Yoon-woo for an intensive 30-minute talk to seek ways in which the U.K. could help the Korean firm do more and better business there.
Immediately after the Samsung meeting Thursday, he headed to have lunch with British and Korean corporate leaders to search for new ways of collaboration.
``I'd like to encourage other British businesses to consider coming to Korea and Korean firms to come to the U.K.'' said the 48-year-old in a luncheon organized by the commerce chambers of the two countries.
His packed four-day schedule speaks for itself, and his similar trade and investment promotion visits previously made to Singapore and Vietnam also shows that the fun-loving Prince is actually talking serious business.
But on the flip side of his serious exposition, media reports citing that he takes an ironing board on trips abroad ― to neatly press his clothes on the special, imperial board.
The royal offspring, who is fourth in line to the throne of England, had been previously criticized for taking a set of golf clubs on official business trips overseas.
Regardless of the attacks, however, he attests with his returning trips to the fact that ``sales diplomacy'' ― which after all isn't just a Korean thing ― works.