Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mee, Chairman Park Soon-ja of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, Chairman Yoo Joo-hyun of the Federation of Construction Associations and Daewoo E&C President Kim Hyung, attend a New Year’s event for those in the construction industry at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul on Jan. 3. (Photo: FCA)

The Federation of Construction Associations (FCA) held a New Year’s event at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul on Jan. 3 with a slew of dignitaries attending. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon was among some 1,000 participants.

Minister Kim Hyun-mee of the ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport also was on hand.

PM Lee said in his speech that he hopes the construction industry would this year, making every effort to explore overseas construction market for big projects and succeed like they did every year in the past.

He recalled that he had a tremendous welcome when he visited Kuwait to attend a dedication ceremony for the longest bridge in the world, which was built by a Korean company.

MOLIT Minister Kim urged for the construction industry to move ahead with reform while proposing a drink at the gathering.

Chairman Yoon Ju-hyun of FCA said in his speech that the construction industry has a great hope for improved environment for the construction industry with some 100 trillion won in funds are to be plunked down as investments in various private and public construction projects this year.

The situation would go a long way in changing the negative image for the construction industry to a positive one.

The ASEAN-Korea Centre (AKC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Construction Association of Korea (CAK) at conference room of CAK on March 19, 2019.

Through this MOU, the two organizations will explore joint efforts to implement investment and trade promotion projects, as well as human resource development and exchanges in an effort to facilitate cooperation between ASEAN and Korea in the infrastructure industry.

The AKC and CAK will be co-organizing the 7th ASEAN Connectivity Forum on July 9-10 to introduce transport, energy, and smart cities infrastructure projects in ASEAN and conduct 1:1 business meetings between ASEAN delegation and Korean business people.

The year 2019 marks the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-ROK Dialogue Relations.

The relationship between ASEAN and Korea, which developed over the last 30 years, has been reflected on the lives of the peoples of ASEAN and Korea. The people-to-people exchanges between ASEAN and Korea records 10 million annually.

As Korea’s second largest trading partner ($150 billion annually) and third largest investment partner ($4.9 billion annually), ASEAN and Korea have become key partners of economic cooperation. With its endless charms, ASEAN is the most popular travel destination for Koreans (7.6 million visitors annually).

The year 2019, during which ASEAN and Korea celebrate the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-ROK Dialogue Relations, also marks the 10th Anniversary of the ASEAN-Korea Centre (AKC).

As the only intergovernmental organization mandated to promote economic and socio-cultural cooperation between ASEAN and Korea, the AKC will strive to continue playing a pivotal role in building a lasting and genuine partnership between the two sides.

In line with this, AKC will carry out a series of programs under the collective theme of “Connecting People, Sharing Prosperity,” particularly focusing on the three key deliverables.

First, the AKC will make efforts towards building a closer community between ASEAN and Korea.

Through the commemorative programs for the 10th Anniversary of the AKC and the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN-ROK Dialogue Relations, the AKC will lay the groundwork for the next 30 years of a more prosperous ASEAN-Korea partnership.

Second, the AKC will strengthen the cooperation between ASEAN and Korea for innovation-and creativity-driven growth. ASEAN and Korea are key partners for mutually beneficial economic growth.

AKC will seek for innovative and creative ways to invigorate economic cooperation and exchanges between ASEAN and Korea through result-oriented programs in the area of trade and investment.