Gist of Interviews with Prime Minister Han Seung-soo by FOX TV
- 관리자
- 2008.10.07
- Hit 4290
Interview by the FOX Business Channel
The recent financial crisis in the United States has escalated on a global scale. In this connection, Prime Minister Han said that the Korean Government and other countries around the world are closely monitoring how the United States is dealing with the financial crunch. He continued to say that the entire world is noting with keen interest whether a package proposal to address the problem would be passed by the U.S. Congress.
The U.S. Government may have to shift the burden to the taxpayers to resolve the financial crisis. In times of emergency, the Prime Minister said, the Government should work out every possible avenue for crisis management, including imposing a burden on ordinary taxpayers.
He was questioned about how he is working with the people, who are playing a pivotal role in shoring up the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), to stabilize the Korean financial market during the global financial crisis. The Korean Prime Minister responded by saying that the Korean stock market is coupled with the U.S. stock market to some extent but that it also has independent elements and is managed rather well.
Regarding the extent of Korean banks’ involvement in the current U.S. financial crisis, the Prime Minister said that Korean banks’ involvement in Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch is quite limited. In this sense, the impact of the U.S. financial crisis this time would be only minimal. The Korean Government is making continued efforts to identify any possible repercussions on domestic banks.
Concerning the unsuccessful bid for the acquisition of Lehman Brothers by the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and as to whether there was intervention by the Prime Minister, he remarked that this is not an issue that he would have gotten involved in. Rather, the Minister of Strategy and Finance and the KDB dealt with it. He said that as Prime Minister, he was just briefed on the issue.
In connection with measures to deal with the dilemma of the North Korean nuclear issue caused by the recent expulsion of the IAEA inspectors, the Prime Minster said that it was unfortunate for the North to announce the suspension of the process of disabling nuclear facilities in Yongbyon. Adding that it was truly lamentable, he expressed the hope that North Korea would return to the Six-Party Talks.
As to whether the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue through the Six-Party Talks is a failure, the Prime Minister said that as of now, the Six-Party Talks is still ongoing. He said that he hoped that the North would return to the Six-Party Talks, through which the nuclear issue would have to be addressed.
Interview by the Fox News Channel
Regarding North Korea’s recent action to retract its earlier commitment to disable its nuclear reactors and to expel the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors, the South Korean Government feels it is very unfortunate. The Korean Government has a firm belief that peace on the Korean Peninsula can only be maintained after North Korea is denuclearized. In recent years, the Six-Party Talks has made remarkable progress to the point of entering the second phase of denuclearizing the North. Pyongyang’s latest action of halting the process represents a regression to the past and is very regrettable. The denuclearization efforts should proceed without stopping.
At the moment, there is no direct contact with Pyongyang with respect to reinstating the IAEA personnel in the North. In this connection, it should be noted that China has played a very constructive role as the host of the Six-Party Talks. In order to revitalize the peace process, the South Korean Government is working diligently with the concerned parties, particularly with China. The whole issue should be resolved within the framework of the multilateral conference.
The recent financial crisis in the United States has escalated on a global scale. In this connection, Prime Minister Han said that the Korean Government and other countries around the world are closely monitoring how the United States is dealing with the financial crunch. He continued to say that the entire world is noting with keen interest whether a package proposal to address the problem would be passed by the U.S. Congress.
The U.S. Government may have to shift the burden to the taxpayers to resolve the financial crisis. In times of emergency, the Prime Minister said, the Government should work out every possible avenue for crisis management, including imposing a burden on ordinary taxpayers.
He was questioned about how he is working with the people, who are playing a pivotal role in shoring up the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), to stabilize the Korean financial market during the global financial crisis. The Korean Prime Minister responded by saying that the Korean stock market is coupled with the U.S. stock market to some extent but that it also has independent elements and is managed rather well.
Regarding the extent of Korean banks’ involvement in the current U.S. financial crisis, the Prime Minister said that Korean banks’ involvement in Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch is quite limited. In this sense, the impact of the U.S. financial crisis this time would be only minimal. The Korean Government is making continued efforts to identify any possible repercussions on domestic banks.
Concerning the unsuccessful bid for the acquisition of Lehman Brothers by the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and as to whether there was intervention by the Prime Minister, he remarked that this is not an issue that he would have gotten involved in. Rather, the Minister of Strategy and Finance and the KDB dealt with it. He said that as Prime Minister, he was just briefed on the issue.
In connection with measures to deal with the dilemma of the North Korean nuclear issue caused by the recent expulsion of the IAEA inspectors, the Prime Minster said that it was unfortunate for the North to announce the suspension of the process of disabling nuclear facilities in Yongbyon. Adding that it was truly lamentable, he expressed the hope that North Korea would return to the Six-Party Talks.
As to whether the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue through the Six-Party Talks is a failure, the Prime Minister said that as of now, the Six-Party Talks is still ongoing. He said that he hoped that the North would return to the Six-Party Talks, through which the nuclear issue would have to be addressed.
Interview by the Fox News Channel
Regarding North Korea’s recent action to retract its earlier commitment to disable its nuclear reactors and to expel the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors, the South Korean Government feels it is very unfortunate. The Korean Government has a firm belief that peace on the Korean Peninsula can only be maintained after North Korea is denuclearized. In recent years, the Six-Party Talks has made remarkable progress to the point of entering the second phase of denuclearizing the North. Pyongyang’s latest action of halting the process represents a regression to the past and is very regrettable. The denuclearization efforts should proceed without stopping.
At the moment, there is no direct contact with Pyongyang with respect to reinstating the IAEA personnel in the North. In this connection, it should be noted that China has played a very constructive role as the host of the Six-Party Talks. In order to revitalize the peace process, the South Korean Government is working diligently with the concerned parties, particularly with China. The whole issue should be resolved within the framework of the multilateral conference.