By Na Jeong-ju
President Lee Myung-bak’s trademark “sales diplomacy” was evinced once more in the United Arab Emirates as Korea signed its largest-ever oil field development deal, potentially valued at $98 billion, Sunday, during his three-day trip to the oil-rich country.
But the contract, overshadowed by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, gained much less media attention here than initially expected.
Amid fears of a radiation leak from quake-hit nuclear reactor north-east of Tokyo, Lee also faces the question: Should he have postponed the UAE trip to direct Seoul's response to the disaster?
Lee left for Abu Dhabi about a half day after the magnitude 9.0 quake and massive tsunami struck Japan on Friday, kindling worries about the safety of nuclear facilities there.
On Friday night, he convened an emergency Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae to discuss countermeasures and disaster relief for Japan. After the meeting, he offered his deep condolences to the Japanese people and pledged all available assistance to Tokyo.
Then he flew to the UAE the following day.
Some opposition lawmakers doubt whether Lee’s overseas trip was appropriate at a time when a catastrophic natural disaster occurred in a neighboring country, while experts raised the risk of a possible nuclear crisis.
“We wonder if the UAE visit was more important to Lee than the Japanese disaster. He should have reconsidered the UAE trip,” said Cha Young, spokeswoman of the main opposition Democratic Party, Tuesday.
Sources said some aides advised Lee during the emergency meeting to postpone the trip given the possible impact of the earthquake and tsunami, but Lee was not persuaded.
Presidential aides say such criticism is not understandable.
“The situation in Japan was not as serious as it turned out to be when Lee left for the UAE,” an aide said on condition of anonymity.
“The trip was scheduled weeks ago and there could have been huge problems if he canceled it. It is absurd to blame the President only based on what happened afterwards.”
As such, the Japan disaster has stolen media attention from the oil contract, which otherwise would have made headlines for days here.
Under the deal, signed on the sidelines of a summit between Lee and his UAE counterpart Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, Korea’s state-run oil firm will participate in a project that will see it secure at least 1 billion barrels of oil from Abu Dhabi’s oil fields.
This is the largest-ever overseas contract for Korea and will help Seoul raise its energy self-sufficiency ratio for oil and gas to 15 percent from the current 10.9 percent.
Lee’s participation on Monday, in a groundbreaking ceremony for the proposed nuclear power plant site in Braka, some 300 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi, also received little attention amid fears of a nuclear disaster in Japan.
At the ceremony, Lee, apparently in mindful of the nuclear crisis, dismissed concerns about the safety of nuclear power plants, and pledged to make all-out efforts to ensure the safety of the reactors Korea plans to build in the Arab country. In 2009, Korea and the UAE signed an $18.6 billion contract for the construction of four nuclear power plants.
Upon arrival at the airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, Lee moved to the Central Government Complex in Seoul to attend a meeting of government officials to discuss preparations for possible natural disasters and security contingencies, including attacks from North Korea. He reaffirmed full and immediate support for Japan in its recovery efforts.