asem President Lee Vows to Sign More FTAs
By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
South Korea will open its economy wider and sign more free trade agreements (FTAs) with major trading partners in the near future to boost growth potential and enter the ranks of the advanced economies, President Lee Myung-bak said Monday.
In a welcoming speech at the opening of the 8th ASEM Finance Ministers' Meeting on Jeju, Lee pledged to create a better business environment for foreign investors and companies through the overhaul of the legal system, deregulation and tax cuts.
``The Korea government will make every effort to transform the nation into a place in which foreigners can do business and live conformably. We will try to make the regulatory regime more business friendly to be on a par with the global standard, deregulate the financial and other industries, and cut various taxes,'' he told finance ministers and representatives from 43 ASEM members ― 27 EU countries, 16 Asian countries ― and six international organizations.
Earlier this month, the government said it will cut the maximum corporate tax rate from 25 percent to 20 percent by 2011, two years ahead of the initial timetable, to encourage businesses to invest more and attract more foreign investment. Several days later, it also pledged to lift restrictions on industrial activities on 319 square kilometers of land south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in a bid to create a better business environment.
``Korea will continue to open its market wider to foreign businesses and sign more FTAs to secure new growth engines and strengthen its profile on the international stage. The Korea-U.S. FTA is now awaiting legislative approval in both countries. We will try to conclude the ongoing free trade negotiations with the European Union and five other countries as soon as possible,'' the Korean President said.
Touching on the ongoing financial market jitters and other economic difficulties, Lee said the global economy is facing its greatest crisis since the first oil shock in the 1970s.
``It is not an overstatement to say the world economy is now in the greatest trouble in the past four decades. Growth has slowed on financial market instability amid surging oil and other commodity prices, which have weighed down investment and consumption across the globe,'' he said.
To more effectively counter such global risks the President called on ASEM member economies to step up policy coordination and introduce joint measures to mitigate the negative fallout.