BlogsEventsFeaturesImage galleriesMediaPublicationsAnnual reportAsia White PaperBusinesslinkNewslettersNorth AsiaPost Election BriefStatement of intentTrade matters
Agreement was reached following a series of negotiations which included a visit to Korea in July by a team of negotiators from New Zealand with representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Culture and Heritage, New Zealand Film Commission and Film New Zealand. While in Seoul, the team joined a broad cross section of the Korean film community and officials at a reception at the New Zealand Ambassador’s Residence.
During the meeting the two sides made presentations on their respective agricultural sectors and on the role of the two agricultural ministries. There were also exchanges on animal welfare, environmental sustainability in the agricultural sector and New Zealand’s experience of agricultural reform. During the meeting a number of potential cooperative projects were put forward, including opportunities for cooperation and information exchange in the climate change area, and industry to industry exchange.
On July 4, David Walker, the Ministry’s lead negotiator for the China-New Zealand FTA visited Korea to share some of New Zealand’s experience in negotiating a trade agreement with China. The China-New Zealand FTA was China’s first with an OECD member country, and has been the subject of strong interest around the world. During his visit Walker met with senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy. The Ambassador hosted a lunch for Mr Walker and a group of prominent Korean academics and senior researchers who have a keen interest in trade liberalisation and free trade agreements. The lunch was a welcome opportunity to exchange views on where both Korea’s and New Zealand’s FTA paths are heading. All contacts congratulated Walker and New Zealand on the high quality and comprehensive agreement that China and New Zealand had negotiated. The China-New Zealand FTA was signed in April and came into force on 1 October.
After more than ten years of negotiations on export health standards, the first exports of sliced deer velvet to Korea took place in September. The product passed quarantine inspection and will be used by Korean oriental medicine practitioners. We expect to see strong growth in the market for this specialised product.
From 3-9 August the Mayor of North Shore City, Andrew Williams, Economic Development Manager Roger Matthews and Chief Executive of Enterprise North Shore, Terry Hoskins, visited Korea as guests of the Korea Foundation. While in Korea they spent some time exploring possible linkages, including sister city relations and academic collaboration, with Pohang City, and met with officials in Seoul. North Shore City has the largest concentration of Korean immigrants in New Zealand, and the Korean community is actively engaged in civic affairs. The Mayor has launched a fundraising campaign to build the first formal Korean Garden in New Zealand.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Department of Labour undertook a review of New Zealand’s Working Holiday Schemes (WHSs) which was approved by Cabinet in August. The Korean WHS was extended by twenty percent, from 1,500 to 1,800 places annually. This change reflects the importance and popularity of the Korean Scheme as emphasised by President Lee Myung-bak and Prime Minister Helen Clark in their joint press release early this year. During their summit meeting, the two leaders shared the view that the WHS has played an important role in promoting understanding and cultural exchange between the two countries through enabling our young people to holiday, work and study in each other’s country.
Some 54 members of New Zealand Command and Staff College (CSC), headed by Deputy Chief of Air, Air Commodore Steve Moore, conducted a study visit to Korea from 8-15 August. The aim of the visit was to provide the students with knowledge about defence related matters on the Korean peninsular and to examine at first hand, and from a strategic perspective in what ways the defence policies of Korea are influencing regional stability, security and prosperity. During the visit CSC visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Korea National Defence University, the 3rd ROK Army, 10th Fighter Wing, Naval Operations Command, POSCO, Hyundai Heavy Industry and United Nations Memorial Cemetery. Due to the excellent support and cooperation from the above mentioned institutions, the high-intensity programme provided students with useful knowledge about Korea's current military and economic situation, historical background and its role in North-East Asia and the global community.
From 2-3 September, the OECD Meeting of the Education Policy Committee at Chief Executive Level was held in Seoul. The conference addressed the challenges of policy implementation in education; to identify what policies would deliver the best results, and how those policies may be effectively implemented by drawing from the experiences of member countries. The outcomes from the conference will feed into OECD's work on the political economy of reform. The meeting was attended by over 80 officials from 21 member countries, 3 non-member countries, and international bodies including the EU and UNESCO. New Zealand was represented by Frances Kelly, Education Counsellor to Brussels, and Dion Burns, Education Counsellor to Seoul.
The Korea Foundation held its 10th Workshop for Korean-Art Curators in Seoul from 22 September to 1 October, inviting 42 curators from 15 countries in charge of Korean art collections in their respective museums. Two New Zealand curators, Louis le Vaillant from Auckland War Memorial Museum and Scott Pothan from Whangarei Art Museum attended the workshop. The curators explored various aspects of the Korean royal court culture such as paintings, architecture, costume and ideology at this year’s workshop, co-hosted by the National Palace Museum of Korea. The Korea Foundation has hosted the annual workshop since 1999 to provide an opportunity to overseas Korean-art curators to explore Korean art and culture.
New Zealand Artist Andre Hemer, who is also a lecturer in printmaking at Canterbury University, is undertaking a residency at the Changdong Art Studio of the Korean National Museum of Contemporary Art from 15 July for 3 months. During his residency in Korea, he will take part in a group exhibition at Grimson Gallery and the Chang Dong Art Studio’s annual Open Studio event which open on 1 and 9 October respectively. His residency is sponsored by the studio and the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins (Pietra Brettkelly) from New Zealand screened at the 5th EBS International Documentary Festival (EIDF), held in Seoul from 22 to 28 September. Some 43 documentaries from 21 countries were shown both at theatres and on EBS TV during the festival. Brettkelly came to Seoul to attend the festival and ran a director class entitled “A Proposal to Editing” in the EBS Space on 23 September.
The New Zealand Centre for Culture and Education (NZCCE), a private educational establishment in Seoul, has run a pre-school programme since August, adopting New Zealand curriculum. The New Zealand teachers at the NZCCE teach Korean children aged from 4 to 6 years old on this programme. The New Zealand Embassy gifted the Centre with New Zealand reading resources to assist with the programme.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Republic of Korea (ROK). The nation was founded on 15 August 1948, from the remnants of Japanese colonisation. But the Korean War soon broke out and left the country devastated and divided into the South and North. In the last 60 years, ROK has grown to become the world’s 13th largest economy with an incredible speed and scope of modernisation and industrialisation, a transformation known globally as “the miracle on the Han River.” The growth of industry and democracy in Korea, however, only came after the sacrifice of numerous independence leaders, fighters and workers. The nation’s youth also struggled for the establishment of democracy in the 1980s. The Korean Government presented a series of events to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the country and the 63rd anniversary of the nation’s liberation on 15 August. At the main ceremony President Lee Myung-bak delivered a keynote speech emphasising human security, green growth, energy security and dream of a unified Korea to forge another successful 60 years of Korea.
The Blue House replaced three Ministers in July - those responsible for agriculture, welfare and education. This partial Cabinet shake-up ended a period of uncertainty after the entire Korean Cabinet tendered their resignations on 10 June to take responsibility for the public controversy that erupted over the resumption of beef imports from the US. Jang Tae-pyoung, 59, a former secretary general of a state anti-corruption panel, was appointed the new Minister of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in place of Minister Chung Woon-chan; Ahn Byong-man, 68, an advisor for a presidential think tank on issues such as climate change, resource shortages and an aging society, was appointed Minister of Education, Science and Technology; and Jeon Jae-hee, 59, a three-term female lawmaker of the ruling Grand National Party, was appointed Minister of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs. President Lee refused to accept the resignations of Prime Minister Han Seung-soo, Finance Minister Kang Man-soo and eleven other ministers.
The 18th session of the Korean National Assembly formally opened on the 11 July after a lengthy delay due to a boycott of the Assembly by opposition lawmakers over the beef controversy. Normal National Assembly business was further delayed as the ruling and opposition parties debated over the composition and leadership of standing committees. Eventually lawmakers agreed to an amendment of a livestock disease law (a precondition set by the opposition to moving forward with legislative duties). This compromise allowed the formation of standing committees on 19 August and paved the way for the resumption of usual business in the Assembly. The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) will chair 11 out of 18 committees, with the Democratic Party and Liberty Forward-Creative Korea alliance leading six and one committees respectively.
Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Chinese President Hu Jintao had summit talks in Seoul on 25 August. The two leaders shared the goal of fostering stronger ties in the political, economic and cultural sectors in line with the agreement the two leaders signed in May in Beijing to upgrade the bilateral relations to a strategic cooperative partnership.
The two leaders agreed to expand their military exchanges and set up strategic talks between senior diplomats as part of efforts to strengthen their partnership on the international stage. The two countries also agreed to make joint efforts to persuade North Korea to disable its nuclear weapons and programmes within the framework of the six-party talks. The two countries will also find ways to advance the Korea-China FTA process on the basis of the joint study involving government agencies, industries and academia.
A visit to Seoul Forest, a large eco-forest public park, by the two leaders was made at the request of the Chinese leader who sought new policies to combat environmental pollution in China. They exchanged views on environment-friendly urban development.
The visit by Chinese President Hu to Korea was made a day after the ending of Beijing Olympics and it was his third summit with President Lee in three months.
On 29 September, President Lee Myung-bak and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had a summit in Moscow and agreed to upgrade the relationship from a complementary constructive partnership to a strategic, cooperative partnership. The summit provided significant momentum for the two countries to open a new chapter in their bilateral relationship. For the last eighteen years since the establishment of the diplomatic ties between the two countries, Korea and Russia have focused on economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation, but the two countries will broaden these to political, military and other sensitive fields. During the summit talks, the two countries signed a total of 26 agreements in energy, resources, science and technology, finance and various other fields. The two leaders also discussed ways of linking railways between the two countries through North Korea. With the summit, President Lee has completed the so-called “diplomacy with four powers” in about seven months of his presidency, following summits with the US, Japan and China.
A 53-year-old South Korean woman touring the Mt. Geumgang resort in North Korea was shot dead by a North Korean soldier in the early morning of 11 July. North Korean officials said that the woman had strayed into a restricted area, failed to heed a warning, and was shot dead. The South Korean Government immediately suspended tours to the region which are run by Hyundai Group, and pulled out many of the South Korean workers from the resort afterwards. Word of the killing came out just hours after South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak announced that he wanted to mend the stalled relationship with North Korea. The resort has attracted more than one million South Korean visitors since 1998 and earned the North hundreds of millions of dollars.
According to the Ministry of National Defence, all Korean troops stationed in Iraq will return home by the end of this year, ending four years of humanitarian and rehabilitation missions there. About 520 Korean soldiers of the Zaytun unit are currently carrying out reconstruction operations in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil. Korea keeps the fourth largest troop numbers in Iraq, after the US, the UK and Poland. However, there has been speculation that the conservative Lee Myung-bak Government may seek an extension to the troop deployment to help the US-led stabilisation operation in Iraq.
The sixth round of Six Party Talks between South Korea, North Korea, US, Japan, China and Russia were held in Beijing from 10-12 July. At this round of talks, some progress was made in terms of the denuclearisation agenda, including discussions on verification mechanisms, monitoring mechanisms and a timetable for providing energy assistance to North Korea. Unfortunately however, the parties have not been able to agree to a verification protocol to date. President Bush informed Congress of his intention to remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, a process which after a period of at least 45 days would allow the actual removal of North Korea from the list. When the 45 day mark passed on 11 August and the US deemed that preconditions for removal had still not been met, North Korea announced in response (26 August) that it had stopped the disablement process at the Yongbyon nuclear facility. Following that, the North went on to announce that it would reverse the disabling measures taken so far and began the process of removing seals at, and returning equipment to, the Yongbyon facility. Intense diplomatic efforts to resolve the North Korea nuclear issue continue and the issue remains one of great interest to the international community.
The Korean economy grew around 5% in the first half of 2008, buoyed by the strong growth of export, which increased by 20.5% year-on-year. A trade deficit with Middle East countries has, however, offset the impact of trade as imports jumped 29.1%, yielding a US$5.7 billion deficit, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. Merchandise trade deficit with advanced countries including Japan, Australia and Canada in the first half also worsened. Consumer prices rose by 4.3% during the first half.
As the world’s fifth-largest crude oil buyer and a major trading nation, rising oil prices and a continuing slide in the currency are heavily pressing the economy. The American financial crisis triggered by the demise of US investment giant Lehman Brothers has set to have an impact on the economy. Weakening domestic and external demand caused by higher interest rates and a slow world economy is expected to hold the growth of the economy in the 2nd half and further to next year. Expectations for growth of the economy have dropped to below 4% for this year from 6% and to 3.9% for the second half. Despite these indicators, general opinion is that Korea is better placed than many countries to withstand the global financial turmoil.
Overseas spending by Korean households plunged 15% in the first half compared to the same period last year, the biggest drop since the 1997-98 currency crisis. According to the Bank of Korea, overseas spending totalled 7.65 trillion won (US$6.98 billion) in the first half, down 15.3% from the 9.44 trillion won posted a year earlier. The drop has reversed the upward trend in overseas spending since 2003. The Reserve Bank explained that the declining won, which makes foreign goods and services more expensive, has been weakening household purchasing power. The won has plunged more than 16% against the US dollar this year, driven by the dumping of local shares by foreign investors and the buying of the US dollar amidst concerns over a global economic downturn. On the positive side, however, the National Statistical Office reported that, thanks to a decline in oil prices, consumer confidence in August rose from an eight-year low and the Reserve Bank released that its consumer index was unchanged in September from August. The Reserve Bank said that consumers grew less pessimistic about the 2nd half outlook for the country’s economy but more pessimistic about their income growth.
Korea and India have signed a free trade deal that could boost their US$11 billion annual trade by as much as a third. The Trade Ministry reported that the two countries had concluded two years of talks with an agreement to open up their markets and plan to put it into effect next year. The deal, called the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, has to be ratified by both countries’ legislatures. A study by the state-run Korea Institute for International Economic Policy showed the pact could boost annual two-way trade by US$3.3 billion and Korea’s GDP by 1.3 trillion won (US$1.1 billion).
Korea has FTAs in place with Chile and Singapore and is awaiting ratification of a trade deal with the US signed in June last year.
According to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the Government plans to attract 100,000 foreign students to Korea by 2010. The plan is part of the revised “Study Korea Project” introduced in 2004. Universities will receive a combined US$2 million to open more English-only and Korean language classes. The Ministry understands that attracting overseas students is important not only for education but also the economy and diplomacy. The number of foreign students in Korea has jumped three-fold over the last four years to 55,000 this year.
According to the guidelines on how handle children re-entering elementary and secondary schools in Seoul, distributed by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in August, children returning from overseas studies will have to take exams for readmission to schools in Seoul. The measure is to keep returning students from being admitted at grades beyond their academic ability and make Korean children think twice about going overseas for studies. Schools have till now admitted almost all returned students and placed them into classes according to their age without testing their academic level. The tougher regulation comes as a growing number of children are going overseas for studies. About 30,000 Korean students go overseas every year, nearly 20 times that of a decade ago.
Abigail Vink joined the Embassy as the new Second Secretary (Political) in early July. Abi spent the last two years studying Korean in Seoul, at the Yonsei University Language Institute for a year and then at the American Embassy’s Foreign Language Institute. Abi takes over from Shee-jeong Park who has moved on to take up a posting in Madrid.
Peter Nunan finished his posting to Korea in July and has moved to the Consular Division in the Ministry. His replacement, Jeff Mathews, joined the Embassy as First Secretary (Consul) in August. Jeff’s previous postings include Jakarta, Port Moresby and he has worked in various divisions in the Ministry since 1986.
Cherry Mathews joined the Embassy as Executive Assistant in August. Before taking up the position, Cherry worked in TND in Wellington.
Erica Lee joined the Embassy on a one year contract as a Political Research Officer in August. Erica undertook her secondary and tertiary education in Christchurch, New Zealand.
3-5 October
4-5 October
8 October
10 October
13 October
14-18 October
23 October
3-7 November
4 November
19 November
