Finance minister vows to improve environment for foreign investors

South Korean Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho (L) meets with U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Mark Lippert in Seoul on May 13, 2016.

SEJONG, (Yonhap) — South Korea’s finance minister said Friday that he will put more efforts into creating a fair business environment for foreign investors by removing discriminatory regulations.

“The South Korean government will improve transparency and consistency in its economic and financial policies to remove any discriminatory measures against foreign investors,” Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said in a meeting with Mark Lippert, U.S ambassador to South Korea, in Seoul.

“I will have meetings with member companies of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea to widen dialogue channels with U.S. firms.”

The United States is South Korea’s second-largest trade partner after China, posting US$114 billion in trade in 2015. The two countries also signed a free trade pact that took effect in March 2012.

Moreover, the U.S. is the largest foreign investor in South Korea as it invested a total of $5.5 billion last year, up 52 percent from a year earlier.

Lippert said he is also making efforts to bolster cooperation among U.S. and Korean businesses in order to expand further corporate investment between the two countries.

The South Korean finance minister said South Korea will do its best to carry out structural reforms and take preemptive measures to deal with a protracted slump in the global economy.

The two shared views on North Korean nuclear issues, saying that Seoul and Washington will spearhead the international moves on the strongest sanctions against Pyongyang’s nuclear programs.

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