Moon names new head of northern economic cooperation committee

World
Europe

Republic of Korea (ROK) President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday named a new head of the Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation amid a rising peace mood on the Korean Peninsula that is expected to stoke inter-Korean economic cooperation in the near future.

The official ceremony was held at the presidential Blue House to appoint Kwon Goo-hoon, senior economist at the US-based investment firm Goldman Sachs, as the new chief of the presidential committee.

Kwon, 56, worked as deputy chief of the Moscow office and a senior economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), before joining Goldman Sachs in 2007.

He told reporters that he would make efforts to materialize the New Northern Policy, advocated by President Moon, based on his experiences in the IMF and Goldman Sachs.

Kwon replaced Rep. Song Young-gil of the ruling Democratic Party as chairman of the committee, which was formed to support the New Northern Policy.

Moon initiated a so-called New Economic Roadmap on the Korean Peninsula, composed of the New Northern Policy and the New Southern Policy, to expand his country's economic and diplomatic terrains beyond Northeast Asia by strengthening cooperation with Southeast Asian nations and countries bordering the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

ROK President Moon Jae-in speaks during a ceremony in the western port of Gunsan, ROK, October 30, 2018. /VCG Photo

The New Northern Policy aimed to build trust with China, Russia, and Mongolia through economic cooperation to eventually expand the cooperation to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Under the New Southern Policy, the Moon government will expand economic cooperation with 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Kim Hyun-chul, a presidential economic adviser who doubles as the head of the Presidential Committee on Southern Economic Cooperation, told a press briefing that he would make efforts to increase national interests by partnering with the Southeast Asian region.

(Top image: ROK President Moon Jae-in delivers a speech during the plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul, ROK, November 1, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency