Seoul`s financial chief calls for cooperation with ASEAN

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By Koh Byung-joon
JEJU ISLAND, South Korea, June 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top economic
policymaker called for Asian countries Monday to step up cooperation to jointly
overcome the global economic crisis.
Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun also cautioned against the emergence of
protectionism amid the worldwide financial and economic turbulence, urging Asian
neighbors to make more concerted efforts to avoid it.
"To overcome the imminent economic crisis and enhance efficiency in East Asia,
regional cooperation is more essential than ever before," Yoon told a forum held
on sidelines of the South Korea-ASEAN special summit that kicked off on Monday.
"We need to join efforts altogether to prevent protectionism and promote
cooperation in financial and other macroeconomic sectors," he added.
His remarks come as leaders of South Korea and 10-member ASEAN countries seek to
intensify regional cooperation in economic growth, investment and many other areas
deemed to be mutually beneficial.
"Over the past 20 years, Korea and ASEAN have deepened their mutually beneficial
economic relationship based up on trust and respect," Yoon said. "ASEAN has
emerged as the third-largest trading partner and the second biggest investment
destination for Korea."
He cited the free trade agreement between the two regions in goods and service
and a similar deal on investment to be signed during the two-day summit talks.
"Against this backdrop, the ASEAN-Korea Commemorative summit will be a venue to
discuss diversified measures for economic cooperation," Yoon said "Likely
discussions at the summit will encourage Korea-ASEAN economic cooperation to
expand at a more rapid pace than ever before.
The minister, however, noted that both sides need to "take another step forward,
as a partner for future co-prosperity.
"The world is facing various challenges such as climate change, sustainable
growth, poverty reduction as well as ongoing economic difficulty. Most of them
are global issues that advanced countries cannot address alone," Yoon said.
"Under these circumstances, collaboration between Korea and ASEAN as middle
powers are required to improve conditions for responding to global issues," he
added.
The minister also pledged to expand and facilitate personal and cultural
exchanges between South Korea and ASEAN nations, saying that such efforts to
promote mutual understanding and trust are an important part of substantially
strengthening economic cooperation.
"To that end, we need to establish personal networks by building up policy
dialogue channels and facilitating other forms of exchange program," he noted
during the forum.
Meanwhile, participants emphasized the importance of growth based on eco-friendly
technologies or the so-called green growth in overcoming the economic crisis.
The South Korean government said that it will share its experience in the legal
area along with regulation and systems with its ASEAN counterparts, while
promising to provide support for green growth policy in the ASEAN member
countries.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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