(SEOUL=Yonhap News) Business leaders of South Korea and the United States urged further economic cooperation between their two countries Thursday, reaffirming their commitment to enhancing and implementing the countries' free trade agreement (FTA) that went into effect four years ago.
The call came at the 28th General Assembly of the Korea-U.S. Business Council held in Seoul.
"Council members from both sides stressed the importance of further boosting economic and trade cooperation between South Korea and the United States amid a global economic downturn," the council members said in a joint statement released by the Federation of Korean Industries.
The meeting was attended by some 70 business leaders and ranking government officials from both countries, including U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert and South Korea's Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan.
The annual meeting came one day after the U.S. elected Republican candidate Donald Trump in its latest presidential election, signaling what many view as an imminent change to Washington's trade policy.
Trump, a strong advocate of U.S. jobs, has repeatedly called the United States' free trade deals, including the one with South Korea, a "destroyer" of U.S. jobs.
Paul Jacobs (3rd from L), chairman of U.S. communications giant Qualcomm, speaks at the 28th general assembly of the Korea-U.S. Business Council held in Seoul, South Korea on Nov. 10, 2016. Other participants at the meeting included (from L) Vincent Brooks, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, Tami Overby, vice president of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Cho Yang-ho, chief South Korea's largest flag carrier Korean Air Lines and South Korean head of the joint business council. (Photo courtesy of FKI)
The members of the joint council insisted the Korea-U.S. FTA mutually benefited both countries.
"Council members of both sides agreed to work together in maintaining peace and stability in the Northeast Asian region, while they once again expressed their strong support for the Korea-U.S. FTA as a basis of creating new business opportunities and expanding the countries' trade relations," the joint statement said.
Also present at the joint council meeting was Vincent Brooks, commander of some 28,500 U.S. troops in Korea, who offered a special presentation on the Korea-U.S. alliance and their joint defense posture here, according to the FKI.
"The Korea-U.S. Business Council promised support for further boosting the two countries' economic and industrial cooperation," the joint statement said.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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Source: Yonhap News (Nov. 10, 2016)