President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of October 23 with a delegation led by Mr. Kim Jung-haeng, president of the Korean Olympic Committee. On behalf of the government and people of the ROC, President Ma welcomed the delegation to Taiwan and called for continued strengthening of interaction and cooperation between Taiwan and Korea.
In remarks, President Ma noted that Mr. Kim is highly accomplished in judo and has helped cultivate many outstanding Korean athletes. Mr. Kim maintains friendly and close relations with Taiwan, the president said. He has received an honorary doctorate degree from Taiwan's Chinese Culture University, for example, and on behalf of Yong In University in South Korea once bestowed an honorary doctorate on Mr. Kuan Chung (關中), former president of the ROC's Examination Yuan.
Remarking on the recent Asian Games held in Incheon, the president noted that the team from Taiwan put in an outstanding performance, winning a total of 10 gold medals, 18 silvers, and 23 bronzes, ranking Taiwan ninth in the medal count. Among the winners, female weightlifters Hsu Shu-ching (許淑淨) and Lin Tzu-chi (林子琦) both broke world records, he said. The president thanked Mr. Kim for providing assistance to the team from Taiwan during the competition.
President Ma then noted that the Korean city of Mungyeong in Gyeongsangbuk-do will hold the 6th CISM (Conseil International du Sport Militaire, International Military Sports Council) World Summer Games in 2015, and in 2018 the county of PyeongChang in Gangwon-do will host the 23rd Olympic Winter Games. He expressed hope that Mr. Kim and the Korean Olympic Committee will continue to look out for the interests of the team from Taiwan during the games. He also mentioned that central Taiwan's Taichung City was bidding to hold the First East Asian Youth Games in 2019, with the decision to be announced on October 24, and he asked for the delegation's support for Taichung's bid.
As for cultural and educational ties, President Ma said, 104 universities and institutes from Taiwan have signed sister school relationship agreements with 213 counterparts in Korea since 1996. In addition, institutions between the two sides have signed 753 exchange agreements and MOUs, he remarked. The president added that sports ties are particularly close, with 28 events held last year alone.
Commenting on tourism, President Ma said that seven years ago during his campaign for the presidency he unveiled his vision for a "golden aviation loop" in Northeast Asia, and that three years ago direct flights began between Taipei's Songshan Airport and Seoul's Gimpo International Airport, helping to fully realize that objective. This has significantly promoted tourism between the two countries, he commented, adding that nearly 870,000 tourist visits were made between the two nations last year, setting a new record. Of this number, visits by Taiwanese to South Korea hit 510,000, while the number of tourist visits to Taiwan by South Koreans was 350,000, he stated.
With respect to economic and trade ties, President Ma said, bilateral trade last year reached US$30.3 billion, up 5% from the previous year. Korea is Taiwan's sixth largest trading partner, while Taiwan is Korea's seventh largest, he remarked. The president mentioned that in recent years Taiwan has signed economic cooperation agreements or investment agreements with major trading partners, such as mainland China, Japan, New Zealand, and Singapore, and that it has resumed negotiations with the United States under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. However, he pointed out, there is still room for further development of economic and trade ties between Taiwan and Korea, so he hopes that the two sides can soon enter into talks on an investment protection agreement, a double taxation avoidance agreement, and an economic cooperation agreement. The president said he would also like to see both Taiwan and Korea join the Trans-Pacific Partnership. All of these moves would further deepen the cooperative economic and trade relationship between the two countries, the president remarked.