"Former President Roh Moo Hyun saw that the way for Korea to live is open. There was a firm philosophy that although there was no guarantee that openness would succeed, there would be no success without openness."
Yoon Dae-hee, former head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, who participated in negotiations for the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) during the Roh Moo Hyun administration, recalled, "We thought cooperation with the U.S. was essential for advancing the economy to a global level and competing in the service industry."
On the 25th, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) published "Korean Mirror 8: Korea-U.S. FTA, Vision for the Global Economy," which contains reviews from policy makers related to the Korea-U.S. FTA. The "Korean Mirror" series began with the aim of sharing the experience and wisdom of policy-making that played a decisive role in the development of the Korean economy with the present and future generations.
In an interview with Maeil Economy, former chief of staff Yoon recalled that Roh's strong will was crucial to the signing of the Korea-U.S. FTA, saying, "At that time, I included the negotiation process between the administration and the cabinet as senior presidential secretary for economic affairs." "From the U.S. standpoint, economic cooperation with South Korea is important in terms of the overall economy, but there was a greater purpose," he said. "It was concluded with the two countries' interests to promote U.S. interests among the powers such as Japan, China, and Russia by cooperating with South Korea."
The newly published book contains the process of Korea's development into an FTA hub country and a trading powerhouse through the promotion of the Korea-US FTA. Former officials who played major roles in the Korea-U.S. FTA negotiations, including former Chief of Staff Yoon, former Deputy Prime Minister Kwon Oh-kyu, former Trade Minister Park Tae-ho and Kim Jong-hoon, and former Financial Services Commission Chairman Jin Dong-soo and Shin Je-yoon, participated in the interview. In particular, Wendy Cutler, former deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), also participated in the interview to reveal the U.S. side's position and negotiation process at the time.
[Reporter Han Sangheon]
