S. Korean president warns against growing protectionism

By Byun Duk-kun
JAKARTA, March 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called Saturday
for joint efforts between his country and Indonesia to fight the global economic
crisis and what he called growing protectionist trends in world trade.
"I believe it is more important than anything else to avoid the sweet temptation
of trade protectionism and firmly defend the principle of market liberalization
to overcome the economic crisis," Lee told a meeting with a group of South Korean
and Indonesian businesspeople.
Indonesia is Lee's last stop on his three-nation tour which already took him to
New Zealand Australia. In Jakarta, Lee met with President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono and other top Indonesia officials.
At their summit Friday, the South Korean and Indonesian presidents vowed to take
joint efforts in the upcoming G-20 financial summit in London to promote
"financial reforms and coordination of economic and trade policies" to bring the
financial crisis to an end.
"The world must pursue a 'global deal,' in which the countries will take bold
financial, currency reform measures to restore confidence in the financial market
and swiftly and simultaneously expand their spending to counter possible market
contractions and mass lay-offs," he said at a meeting Saturday with South Korean
and Indonesian business representatives.
Lee also called for increased cooperation between the two governments as well as
their private businesses to develop what he called "green growth engines."
"If we combine Indonesia's green resources and South Korea's green technology, it
will not only help boost the countries' economies, but will also greatly help
prepare the countries against global climate change," he said.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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