President Ma Ying-jeou on the afternoon of November 11 at the Presidential Office met with the new Representative of the Korean Mission in Taipei Dr. Koo Yang-keun. The president, on behalf of the government, expressed a warm welcome to Representative Koo.
President Ma commented that Representative Koo many years ago was a student in the Department of History at National Taiwan University. He noted that Representative Koo has a deep understanding of Taiwan. He served in the academic sector for many years and is acquainted with many people in the political and academic communities. President Ma said he believes Dr. Koo is an excellent choice to take up the position of Representative of the Korean Mission in Taipei.
The president said relations between Taiwan and the Republic of Korea are progressing at a rapid pace. Last year, bilateral trade reached US$6.8 billion. Korea is Taiwan's fifth largest trading partner. In addition, tourism between the two nations is also posting handsome growth, he said. Korea has become a favorite place for the people of Taiwan to visit. The president looks forward to both sides continuing to strengthen their dialogue in the future, enabling relations between Taiwan and the Republic of Korea to continue to improve based on the existing foundation.
Representative Koo thanked President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with him. He mentioned that at present there are 66 flights between the two nations each week and tourist visits each year now number about 560,000. This demonstrates the close interaction between the two sides and further indicates that ties are returning to the past levels.
Lastly, President Ma reiterated his welcome to Representative Koo on behalf of the government. He expects Representative Koo to continue to promote cooperative cultural, economic, investment and tourist relations between the two countries, fostering a win-win situation. He also asked Representative Koo to pass along his good wishes to President Lee Myung-bak of the Republic of Korea.
Representative Koo was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the afternoon by Deputy Representative of the Korean Mission in Taipei Sur Sung Yol and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs David Y. L. Lin to meet President Ma. Also in attendance was National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi.