Korea’s Free Trade Future

In my keynote address last week in Seoul at the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy Foreign Investment Week summit, cohosted by KOTRA and Invest Korea, I argued that Korea is a miracle country whose success is based on the commitment and thoughtful hard work of the Korea people and government. Korea’s commitment to free trade has been an incredibly far-sighted strategy for enhancing Korea’s competitiveness. To continue along this important path, Seoul will need to continually enhance implementation of the Korea US FTA and do all it can to enter the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). As I’ve argued before, I believe the North Korean regime will collapse within the next decade. When that happens, Korea will enter a new phase of high growth that will benefit from reunification, low-wage high quality north Korean workers, abundant natural resources, and the establishment of a high-tech corridor between Seoul and Northeast China. I’m not sure if there’s a video of the talk, but please see my slides linked here.