Korean, U.S. Biz Leaders
Call for a Successful FTA

Send to their respective government a letter calling for an early conclusion of a FTA deal

Korean and U.S. business leaders have urged their respective government to conclude a deal on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries and extend Korea an American visa waiver status.
The representatives of Korea-U.S.-Korea Business Councils adopted to send a letter containing the demands, to be delivered to their head of state of each country, Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and U.S. President George W. Bush after wrapping up the 19th Plenary Session held in La Costa Resort, Carlsbad, Calif. Jan. 19-21.
The two sides agreed to concentrate their efforts to provide support for the successful conclusion of FTA negotiations, which suffered setbacks due to a delay in agreements over contentious major issues between the two countries.
The letter, signed by S.R. Cho, chairman of the Korea-U.S. Business Council, and William Rhodes, chairman of the U.S. Korea Business Council, said, "At their joint interim meeting on Jan. 20, the U.S.-Korea Business council and the Korea-U.S. Business Councils reaffirmed their firm support for a comprehensive and commercially viable free trade agreement (FTA) between the United States and the Republic of Korea, and this meeting, which brought together the largest turnout ever of leaders of the major American and Koran companies in the councils as well as Amb. Vershbow, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Karan Bhatia, Amb. Lee of Korea, and other U.S. and Korean government officials, highlighted the strong desire of the U.S. and Korean business communities for a successful FTA." "We are now at a critical moment in the FTA negotiations between out two countries. We understand that the U.S. and Korean negotiators made important progress in the recently concluded sixth round of FTA talks. Our two organizations urge that you and your administration do its utmost to seize upon this forward momentum and resolve the outstanding issues remaining in these negotiations in order to conclude a sound agreement as soon as possible,"it said.
The letter sent to Korean President Roh said "We are grateful to you and President Bush for your firm resolve and leadership in pursuit of a Korea-U.S. free trade agreement. Our two organizations are committed to working together in support of the negotiation of a comprehensive and commercially meaningful agreement. Moreover, we are actively advocating Korea's inclusion in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program at the earliest possible time."The Korean 32 delegates included S.R. Cho, chairman of Hyosung Group and concurrently chairman of the Korea-U.S. Business Council, Choi Yong-kwon, chairman of Samwhan Corporation, Ryu Jin, chairman-CEO of Poongsan, Koo Bon-joon, vice chairman of LG International Corp., Cho Jung-nam, vice chairman of SK Telecom, Cho Kun-ho, vice chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries.
The 26 delegates from the U.S. side included William Rhodes, chairman-CEO of Citibank NA and senior vice chairman of Citigroup Inc. and concurrently chairman of the U.S.-Korea Business Council, and Stanley Gale, chairman of Gale International.
Korean Amb. Lee Tae-sik and U.S. Amb. Alexander Vershbow , Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Karan Bhatia, and Korean and U.S. government officials participated in the session and reviewed the pending issues between the two nations.
Also on hand were Hur Kyong-wouk, director-general of International Finance Bureau at the Korean Ministry of Finance and Economy, Lee Jang-yung, assistant governor of International Affairs at the Financial Supervisory Service, discussed on financial services and taxation.
Lee Jung-hoon, senior partner of Bae, Kim & Lee, and Lee Yoon-woo, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, and High Stephens, senior vice president of International Relations and Public Policy, Asia Pacific, Time Warner, touched on IPR.
Hwang Young-key, chairman-CEO of Woori Financial Group, and Shin Young-moo, attorney at Law, Shin & Kim, participated in a panel discussion on U.S. regulatory environment.
Cho Kyun-ho, vice chairman of FKI, Ryu Chang-moo, vice chairman of Korea International Trade Association, Myron Brilliant, president of U.S.-Korea Business Council, Richard Cunningham, partner of Steptoe & Joshnson, and Choi Inbom, government programs executive in Korea at IBM, discussed on the status of U.S.-Korea FTA.
Ha Dong-man of the Federation of Korean Industries, and Kim Young-vae, of Korea Employers Federation, discussed on developments in Korean labor policy/U.S. visa policy. nw

S.R. Cho, chairman of the Korea-U.S. Business Council talks with his U.S. counterpart, William Rhodes, chairman-CEO of Citibank NA, during the 19th Session of Korea-U.S./U.S.-Korea Business Councils held in Seoul last June 21.