On March 28, the Institute of East and West Studies (IEWS) hosted the Sixth Yonsei Cheongsong Forum, or “South Korea-Russia Future Forum,” which brought academics and political and economic experts from both nations to the Yonsei campus for an afternoon of presentations and discussions on a number of issues affecting Northeast Asia. The forum’s primary purpose was to promote greater communication and friendship between Russia and South Korea, while providing a venue for developing creative and practical strategies for enhancing bilateral cooperation in sectors such as economics, energy, agriculture, transportation, culture, and education.
Kim Gwang-ho, a co-president of Celltrion, a leading Korean biotechnology company, gave a presentation focusing on South Korean agriculture and strategies for improving bilateral cooperation in this sector. Mr. Kim pointed out that while South Korea is one of the world’s top-five grain importers, it is a world-leader in grain milling, sugar manufacturing, fat and oil production, and food processing. Furthermore, South Korea’s extensive glass-greenhouse system provides the country’s 50 million citizens with high quality fruits and vegetables year-round. Ahn Byung-min, Director of the Center for Northeast Asia and North Korea Transport Studies, The Korea Transport Industry, spoke on President Park Geun-hye’s “Eurasia Initiative” and future South Korea-Russia railway cooperation. Emphasizing the fact that the region covers nearly 40% of the Earth’s total land area, contains more than 70% of the human population, and is responsible for more than half of the world’s GDP, Mr. Ahn argued that Eurasia is the main engine of global economic growth. He continued by outlining the great potential of the Eurasia Initiative, which is intended to provide a foundation for a peaceful and prosperous Eurasian region by linking its energy and logistics infrastructure and connecting rail and road networks.
Russian Senator and Deputy Governor of the Chelyabinsk region, Ruslan Gattarov, expressed Russia’s intention of creating an E-Government platform; as such, Russia is eager to share information and communication technology (ICT) with South Korea, as this country has consistently ranked first worldwide in the United Nations (UN) E-Government Index. Deputy Governor Gattarov further stressed the need for the two nations to increase bilateral cooperation in the medical and ICT sectors.
During the forum’s second session, the lawyer Dr. Lee Yu-jin argued that a potential gas pipeline between Russia and South Korea—one passing through North Korea—could provide the South with greater leverage over the North, while contributing to greater cooperation between the divided nations. Ultimately, he suggested, the pipeline has the potential to make Northeast Asia a more peaceful, prosperous, and stable region. In conjunction with the pipeline, which would increase the physical and economic links between Russia, North Korea, and South Korea, Dr. Lee expressed the desirability of having Russia assume a central role in addressing North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. Russia’s concerted efforts in these areas, he concluded, will not only serve to strengthen trust between Moscow and Seoul, but also to accelerate the flow of South Korean capital into the Russian market.
Dean Aleksandr L. Shestakov of South Ural State University pointed out that while South Korea may see Russia primarily as a resource-abundant country, as the first nation to send a satellite and a human into space, it remains a global leader in science and technology. He also noted that the United States’ reliance upon Russian space vehicles for its research at the International Space Station provides an important basis for improving bilateral relations between Washington and Moscow. Much of Dean Shestakov’s talk was devoted to the crucial role education reforms played in the Soviet Union’s Perestroika movement; he therefore emphasized the importance of increasing cooperative programs between South Korean and Russian universities as a means of enhancing bilateral relations.