President Chen said that the "Seoul Taipei Club" in South Korea was established in 2000 when he was inaugurated as president. Meanwhile, the "Taipei-Seoul Association" was set up in Taipei last year. He said he believes the two organizations will play an important role in furthering relations between the two countries in the future.
President Chen said he is pleased that during his presidency, the two countries have resumed aviation relations and Taiwan has re-opened a representative office in Pusan. He added that South Korea's decision to offer visa-free courtesies for Taiwan tourists has enabled the number of visits made by nationals of the two countries to rise to 500,000 to 600,000. He said the growth in this number is already quite impressive, but that he is confident that further expansion can be seen.
The president said bilateral trade between the two countries last year reached US$22.1 billion, with South Korea enjoying a US$7.8 billion trade surplus. South Korea is Taiwan's fourth largest trading partner and source of imports, as well as its fifth largest export market. He added that South Korea is also the source of Taiwan's third largest trade deficit.
President Chen said both Taiwan and Korea will have new leaders in the not too distant future. South Korea will elect a new president on December 19, while Taiwan will hold its presidential election in March of next year. Recently, South Korea's ruling Uri Party leader Roh Moo-hyun withdrew from the party. Meanwhile, over 20 members of Parliament also withdrew from the party to form a new political party. This has caused the Uri Party to be the second largest party in Parliament, losing its previous advantage. President Chen expressed his regret that South Korea's female Prime Minister, Han Myung-sook, recently resigned after only 10 months in office.
President Chen noted the influence of Mr. Kang as the member of the GNP Supreme Council. He said support for the Grand National Party is four times that of the Uri Party. He also noted that the female chairman of the Grand National Party enjoys a high level of support according to public opinion polls, but is still in second place behind Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-Bak. President Chen said Former President Kim Young-sam visited Taiwan in January to attend a meeting ahead of the formal establishment of the Global Forum on New Democracies. President Chen said he asked Former President Kim as to why Grand National Party leader Park Geun-hye, who enjoys a high level of popularity, was unable to win support to be the party's candidate for president. President Chen also asked whether it is still too early to expect a female to be elected president in South Korea. President Chen said Former President Kim provided an incisive analysis of these issues.