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| ASEAN-Korea Centre Secretary General Lee Hyuk poses before flags of ASEAN countries and Korea at the lobby of the center in downtown Seoul, June 26. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk |
Secretary general optimistic about ASEAN Regional Forum involving N. Korea and other regionals powers in Singapore
By Yi Whan-woo
A dam collapse in Laos' southern province of Attapeu late July bewilders Koreans because two Korean companies — SK E&C and Korea Western Power — were involved in building the dam.
The multibillion dollar, hydro-electric dam, suspected of being built hastily, left hundreds of people missing and several dead after it collapsed and caused major flooding.
Against this backdrop, ASEAN-Korea Centre Secretary General Lee Hyuk expressed unwavering support for the victims on behalf of Koreans as well as his organization, which is entrusted with economic and socio-cultural cooperation between 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries and Korea.
"First and foremost, I would like to convey my heartfelt sympathy to the victims of the recent Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydro-power dam accident in the Lao PDR, on behalf of the ASEAN-Korea Centre," he told The Korea Times last week.
"The Korean government and people are all united in helping the Lao people in their strenuous effort to make a quick recovery ... I sincerely hope the affected area recovers from the damage as soon as possible."
He stressed that a Korean disaster relief team was already in the flood-hit area while other Koreans such as ASEAN-Korea Centre staff were making donations.
"ASEAN-Korea Centre staff have also voluntarily collected a modicum of donations to show our unwavering support for the Lao people's recovery efforts," he said. "I believe Korea's response on the heels of the disastrous event show that we consider the Lao PDR as our true friend and neighbor."
Lee — formerly Korean Ambassador to Vietnam and the Philippines — took office in April.
Since then, the ASEAN-Korea Centre, according to its staff, has "distinctively become a core body" to serve President Moon Jae-in's New Southern Policy aimed at elevating Korea's relations with the ASEAN to be on par with the four major powers in and around the Korean Peninsula — the United States, China, Japan and Russia.
Its latest project included a June 25 seminar in Seoul where a delegation of ambassadors and permanent representatives of Southeast Asian governments to the ASEAN secretariat in Jakarta gathered to assess the New Southern Policy.
"I believe it was a meaningful occasion to reaffirm the Korean government's active support for the policy, convey such a message of support to the ASEAN delegation and also make ASEAN's support for the policy public," Lee said.
"It certainly raised awareness about our role as the core body to implement the New Southern Policy while embodying such roles in a more concrete manner."
He said the goals would include expanding ASEAN-Korea trade volume to $200 billion by 2020, sharing relevant technologies for mutual prosperity, supporting key areas of cooperation and enriching cultural and people-to-people exchanges on various sectors, including government, enterprises and academia.
By countries, the ASEAN-Korea Centre wants to enhance cooperation on information and communication technology, the Internet of Things, smart city and robots with Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, which are nurturing advanced technologies as their next economic growth engines.
The projects with Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar and Vietnam — collectively known as CLMV — focus on food and agriculture, but also include projects to help them develop digital economies.
The cultural and tourism projects target all 10 ASEAN countries to build sustainable tourism. But at the same, the projects focus on promoting tourist attractions that respective country wants to develop further.
He said the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), a multinational security dialogue held in Southeast Asia every year, could offer "a more welcoming environment for North Korea to give up its nuclear arsenal, facilitate inter-Korean relations and open doors to the outside world."
The ARF is the sole regional multinational mechanism in which North Korea has participated.
This year's dialogue in Singapore from Aug. 4 to followed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, also in Singapore, and two summits with President Moon.
Kim promised to give up nuclear ambitions in return for his regime's survival and economic development backed by the U.S.
Lee sees Vietnam as North Korea's role model to fulfill its goal, pointing out that Vietnam, also a former communist country, was enjoying rapid economic growth while holding on to its authoritarian leadership after the Doi Moi economic reform policy was introduced in 1986.
"There is, of course, a difference between North Korea and Vietnam considering the former is under one-man rule while the latter is under collective leadership," Lee said. "But even so, the fact that Vietnam has continued to prosper without political instability certainly give a message to North Korea."
The ASEAN-Korea Centre was established in 2009 to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1989 bilateral dialogue partnership.
The center runs up to 60 programs ever year, ranging from trade and investment forums and missions to meetings and conferences on tourism, education, food, scholarly lectures and relevant publications.
