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Export-Import Bank of Korea director Eun Sung-soo talks with reporters for the second half of 2018 at the Korea Federation of Banks in Seoul’s Myeong-dong neighborhood on July 3.
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Export-Import Bank of Korea director Eun Sung-soo gives timeframe of 30-50 years
Export-Import Bank of Korea director Eun Sung-soo (pictured) said the international community could apply the “Palestinian example” of trust fund support for North Korea’s early development funding prior to its admission to international financial institutions. In a talk with reporters for the second half of 2018 at the Korea Federation of Banks in Seoul’s Myeong-dong neighborhood on July 3, Eun fielded questions on the “scale and methods” of financial support for North Korea’s development. “North Korea’s development and financial support will need to be pursued over a 30- to 50-year time frame,” he said. “Progress will first need to be made on North Korea’s denuclearization, and the lifting of international sanctions will have to be achieved as a requirement,” he added. A state-run institution, Eximbank is entrusted by the Ministry of Unification with execution of the 1 trillion won (US$898 million) Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund. Eun is an international economy expert who has previously served as an international economy management official with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, an executive director with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and chairman of the Korea Investment Corporation (KIC). In terms of specific approaches to providing financial support once international sanctions against the North have been lifted, Eun said, “In addition to funding from South Korea, North Korea could receive official development assistance (ODA) as a member nation if it joins international financial institutions like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Asian Development Fund (ADF), and during the first two to three years it takes to go through membership procedures, we could apply the approach of creating trust funds and redevelopment funds like the ones used with Palestine or Iraq.” Eun added that Eximbank would be closely cooperating as a “local partner” in the future as international financial institutions provide North Korea with ODA. Eun also addressed the issue of restructuring in the shipbuilding and shipping industries, which Eximbank is deeply involved in. “The overall order situation is better than it was last year, but we’re still a long way from the kind of recovery that will allow us to rest easy,” he said. “I would conservatively predict a recovery by no earlier than 2020,” he added. “We are watching the industry situation closely and focusing on the increasing risk of losses associated with the orders.” By Jung Se-ra, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
