외교부

Welcoming Remarks

at a luncheon seminar on June 13, 2006

    Good afternoon!

    IFANS hosts a brown bag lunch seminar on a monthly basis to encourage free discussions on the most current issues of international affairs, by inviting domestic and international guest speakers from a wide range of sectors.

    Since I assumed the post as IFANS' Chancellor in mid-January 2006, US Ambassador Alexander Vershbow and Russian Ambassador Gleb Alexandrovich IVASHENTSOV were guest speakers at our seminars. I think their presence made the brown bag seminars exceptionally fruitful.

    In this regard, today I'm greatly honoured to introduce a most distinguished guest, the Japanese Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, His Excellency Mr. Shotaro Oshima.

    Due to frequent media coverage, Ambassador Oshima is already a well-known figure among Korean people, so I will only briefly introduce his career.

    Ambassador Oshima has successfully served as Minister at the Embassy of Japan in the USA, Director-General for Economic Affairs Bureau, Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Deputy-Minister for Economic Affairs, Ambassador in charge of Inspection, Ambassador of Permanent Representative of Japan to the International Organizations in Geneva where he also served as Chairman of the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO.

    Korea and Japan, as the closest neighbor to each other, have maintained a long history of  friendly and cooperative relations, even though there have been ups and downs.

    Particularly since the successful co-hosting of the World Cup in 2002, we came to share a growing optimism and aspirations that our two countries would be able to pave a new and dynamic road for cooperation and co-prosperity.

    However, sometimes we failed to live up to that kind of optimism due to some regrettable controversies.  

    Nevertheless, it can not be denied that Korea’s closest neighbor is Japan, and the same is true for Japan.  Therefore, it is our common destiny to continue improving our relations.  Simply, we are bound to be together.

    Recently, I have heard that Ambassador Oshima has become enthusiastic about learning and experiencing the historical relationship between Korea and Japan after assuming his post in Seoul.  And, he is also working hard to improve the bilateral relationship between our two countries. I strongly believe that Ambassador Oshima will play an outstanding role in bridging gaps between our two countries.

    Now, I look forward to an enlightening speech by the Ambassador regarding the current situation and future prospects for Korea-Japan relations.  

    Also, since we are planning to visit Japan shortly to participate in a joint annual seminar with the  Japan Institute of International Affairs, what Ambassador Oshima says today will be of great help to us in preparing for the upcoming seminar.

    Please join me in welcoming Ambassador Oshima.

    Before the Ambassador makes his speech, we are going to have lunch first.  In the meantime, each participant is advised to introduce himself, starting from the head-table.