Taiwan and South Korea may open negotiations on economic agreements: officials

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan and South Korea are now more prepared to sign economic agreements, such as investment insurance and double taxation prevention pacts, South Korea’s representative to Taiwan Cho Baek-sang said yesterday.

Cho made the comment at the first Taiwan-South Korea humanities exchange conference, held by the de facto South Korean embassy in Taipei.

Many attendants of the event affirmed the close ties between Taiwan and South Korea. One of them was Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrew Kao (高振群), who said that Taiwan and South Korea have a long history of exchange.

In the early days, the Republic of China supported the founding of South Korea, assisted Koreans in fighting off the Japanese invasion, helped train Korean military cadres, provided intelligence and aided the formation of the Korean military, Kao said.

Kao suggested to South Korean representative Cho that their countries should sign an investment insurance agreement, an agreement to prevent double taxation and an economic cooperation agreement.

This will establish an environment constructive to bilateral trade and economic collaborations, creating a win-win situation while advancing the two countries’ relations.

Good News May Arrive Next Year: Cho

Cho affirmed that Taiwan and South Korea are important trading partners. South Korea has focused its efforts on establishing economic and trade agreements with mainland China. Nevertheless, South Korea never played down Taiwan’s importance, Cho said.

He agreed that Taiwan and South Korea should increase investments in each other and deepen economic cooperation.

The conditions for the two nations to talk about economic collaboration are now more mature than they were, especially in the areas of investment insurance and double taxation prevention. The two countries have been discussing them for some time, and good news may come as early as next year, Cho said.

According Ministry of Finance statistics, trade between Taiwan and South Korea grew from US$3.45 billion in 1992 to US$27.8 billion in 2013.

Furthermore, South Korean exports to Taiwan exceeded its exports to Chili, India, Canada, Australia and European Free Trade Association members combined, all of which have free trade agreements with South Korea.

The event was also attended by former Foreign Minister Chien Fu (錢復), who expressed his hope that relations between Taiwan and South Korea will take a turn for the better in 2015. May the relationship between the two countries grow gently and friendly in the Year of the Sheep, he said