Lee Myung-Bak

(MENAFN) South Korean Culture Minister said that the government plans to ease domestic investment rules and foreign entry procedures by 2020 in a bid to vitalize tourism, Reuters reported. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Culture Minister Yu In-chon met to discuss ways to devise a plan to increase the number of overseas tourists and the amount of foreign investment. As part of their effort, they decided to lower land lending prices by up to 30 percent for firms developing tourism-oriented faci  

South Korean officials have dampened speculation that the country is willing to re-negotiate a free trade agreement with the U.S. The move comes a day after President Lee Myung-bak indicated he was willing to talk about U.S. concerns at a press conference with President Barack Obama. However, the Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said the Korean president's comments didn't mean "renegotiation". The two countries have yet to ratify a treaty signed in June 2007.  

The United States will send a group of experts on Korean affairs to North Korea on Saturday for talks on the country's nuclear program, ahead of a visit by Washington's envoy, Yonhap news agency said. Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. special representative for North Korean policy, is set to arrive in the communist state on December 8, for talks aimed at persuading the country to return to the six-nation talks on scrapping its nuclear program. The South Korean agency cited a diplomatic source as saying the d  

President Obama opened a potentially bruising battle within the Democratic party on Thursday when he pledged to complete a long-stalled trade agreement with South Korea that he inherited from President George W. Bush. At a news conference in Seoul , South Korea, Mr. Obama and the president of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak, both declared their desire to renegotiate elements of the agreement and to have both countries ratify it as soon as possible. "I am a strong believer that both countries can benefit from ex  

The Culture and Tourism Ministry announced yesterday a set of measures to raise competitiveness of the country's tourism industry, including holiday system reform and Chinese visa-free entry into Korea. President Lee Myung-bak said, "The number (of foreign tourists) is important, but quality needs to be raised." The measures, however, don't mention how to significantly raise added values of tourism services, such as ways to boost medical tourism and international conventions.

The number (of foreign tourists) is important, but quality needs to be raised.   -Lee Myung bak

 

South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said Friday his country would not renegotiate a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) it signed with the United States. The statement comes a day after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said at a joint press conference with visiting US President Barack Obama that Seoul was willing to "talk again" about cars, the main sticking point to the deal coming into force. Clarifying Lee's remarks in the National Assembly, Yu said the President was not referring to a renegotia

if Seoul has to discuss the issue in the auto sector with the United States, it will also propose additional discussions on the agricultural sector which suffers great pressure from public opinion in the country.   -Barack Obama

 

of some 1.8% The government in Seoul is pinning its hopes on the country's defence industries boosting the economic recovery and revealed that it plans to spend at least 60% of its budgeted defence expenditure in the first half of the current fiscal year. It also expects to spend even more than 60% of the ministry's budget in 2010 on domestic purchases that may stimulate growth. Tension between the country and Pyongyang remain the dominant security issue on the South Korean horizon and a significant cha  

Citing the benefits to the state of Georgia and the nation, U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today voiced his support for the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement as President Obama met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Seoul. "Approving the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement will enhance both economies by growing markets for U.S. and Korean goods and services, creating jobs in both countries and strengthening an already strong relationship with one of the United States' most impo

Approving the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement will enhance both economies by growing markets for U.S. and Korean goods and services, creating jobs in both countries and strengthening an already strong relationship with one of the United States' most important allies in the East Asian region   -Johnny Isakson

 

The government's Council for Science and Technology Policy, chaired by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, touts "green innovation" as a pillar of the nation's science and technology policy. The government will offer special assistance to entities that develop technology to tackle global warming and to promote efforts to create related new industries. International negotiations are accelerating over a framework to address global warming to succeed the Kyoto Protocol from 2013.