I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
Korean investment in Egypt unswayed by Arab Spring
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Ambassador Hany Selim
By Kang Hyun-kyung
By Kang Hyun-kyung
The deadly terrorist attack on Korean tourists on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt last year had little impact on the scale of Korean investment and tourists there, a reflection of strong bilateral ties, according to a diplomat.
“More than 20,000 Koreans visit Egypt every year and Egyptians also reciprocate on that,” Shin Dong-ik, deputy foreign minister for multilateral and global affairs, said during a speech to celebrate the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries at Egyptian Ambassador Hany Selim’s residence in Seoul, May 28.
“Even after the terrorist attack against Korean tourists in Tabah in February last year, people-to-people ties have expanded.”
Islamist extremist group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for bombing a bus carrying more than 30 tourists, killing three Koreans and the Egyptian driver.
More than 10 Koreans were wounded. The bus was travelling from St. Catherine’s Monastery, a tourist destination in the south Sinai, to Israel when it was attacked.
Shin noted Korean investors were also not affected by political instability in Egypt in the wake of the Arab Spring, a series of uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa that began in 2010. The popular protests in Egypt led to the ouster of then the country’s longest-serving leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
When Egypt was in the middle of domestic turmoil, Shin said, Korean companies continued to stay there and even increased their investments in several cities, including Beni Suef and Ismailiya.
Those Korean investors were convinced that Egyptians will overcome their domestic challenges, he said.
Ambassador Selim said Korea and Egypt were able to build strong relations and the level of their partnership is stronger than that of his country’s diplomatic relations with some other countries.
“Our ambitions in Egypt go far beyond the establishment of sound economic relations and cooperation,” the envoy said. “Our ambitions are about learning and getting inspired by the ‘Miracle on the Han River’ that Korea achieved.”
Several Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics, are operating in Egypt. Samsung created more than 2,700 jobs there and exports more than $800 million worth of products to neighboring countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
Since last year, high-level visits followed between the two countries. President Park Geun-hye met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in September on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York.
The Korean government established its cultural center in Egypt last year, the first of its kind in the Middle East, reflecting the strategic significance of the country.