ΆΓ  South Korea seeking investment amounting to $7 bil. from Japan
      ; President, businessmen to discuss projects during 3-day trip

 KoreaHerald 2000.09.22

     South Korea will seek Japanese investment worth $7 billion over the coming two and a half years, Seoul officials said yesterday.

    The officials said discussions on the investment plans will be launched during President Kim Dae-jung's visit to Japan today through Sunday.

    Kim and First Lady Lee Hee-ho will spend one night each in Tokyo and Atami. The Korea-Japan summit talks are slated for Saturday in Atami, a spa resort city 100 km from the Japanese capital.

    Lee Ki-ho, Kim's chief economic adviser at Chong Wa Dae, said that the President and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori are expected to agree to expedite negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty (BIT), which is aimed at facilitating investment ties between the two countries.

    South Korea hopes to conclude the BIT by the end of the year, Lee said.

    Seoul officials said Kim and Mori are also expected to adopt an "Information Technology (IT) Cooperation Initiative" that will call for strengthening bilateral cooperation in the sector.

    The initiative will call for the promotion of cooperation in information technology research programs, e-commerce and the establishment of an information network linking Asia and Europe, they said.

    Regarding Japanese investments, Lee said that South Korea has drawn $3 billion from Japanese investors since President Kim took office in early 1998.

    "We hope to raise the Japanese investments up to $10 billion by the end of the President's term in February 2003," Lee said.

    He said that preliminary discussions on new investments are under way between Korean and Japanese government officials and business executives.

    Korean Commerce, Industry and Energy Minister Shin Kook-hwan presided over a Korean investment forum in Tokyo yesterday, one day prior to Kim's arrival in the Japanese capital.

    President Kim plans to hold a dinner meeting with Japanese financiers and business executives in Tokyo this evening to call for expansion of Japanese investment in Korea.

    Lee said Korea will seek investments largely from the Japanese parts and materials industries. He noted that Korea suffers from a chronic deficit in trade with Japan mainly because of imports of parts and materials from the island nation.

    "We expect that the incoming Japanese firms will take seats at Taebul and Chinsa industrial estates in the southern parts of the country," he said.

    Chong Wa Dae aides said that Kim and Mori will hold their summit talks on the economy as well as North Korea and cultural exchanges in an informal atmosphere in Atami.

    "The two leaders will meet three times without wearing neckties," said Kim Ha-joong, Kim's chief foreign policy and security adviser.

    Kim and Mori will hold summit talks on Saturday afternoon, which will be followed by a joint news conference. Mori will host a dinner for Kim and his party in the evening.

    The two men are scheduled to hold an unofficial meeting over breakfast Sunday morning before the Korean leader returns home.

    President Kim paid a state visit to Japan in October 1998 and attended the funeral of Mori's predecessor, Keizo Obuchi, in June this year. Mori, who became prime minister in April, visited Seoul in May.