Sarkozy May Visit Seoul Next Year
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
French President Nocolas Sarkozy may visit Korea next year for a summit with President Lee Myung-bak, according to French Ambassador to Korea Philippe Thiebaud, Thursday.
In a speech during a meeting with 20 lawmakers at the National Assembly, the ambassador said he has been working diligently to make the President's visit to Korea take place next year.
Thiebaud said the possible summit would focus on bolstering the bilateral ties between Korea and France.
Rep. Park Sun-young of the Liberty Forward Party (LFP), who attended the meeting, said it held in order to learn lessons from France's experience in putting its political system in place.
During the meeting, Thiebaud observed that France's unique original political system, featuring co-habitation, had caused more harm than good, mainly due to the rising tensions between ruling and opposition parties.
The ambassador, however, said that there have been several positive changes in the political system in recent decades.
Members of a National Assembly study group, dubbed the Forum for Advanced Politics and Economy, hosted the session to listen to lessons of advanced countries.
Park said the forum members will invite ambassadors from Britain and Germany to listen to descriptions of their political systems.