A Summary of Dr. Victor Cha's Interview on Korea Business Central

The Korea Business Interview Series continues at Korea Business Central (KoreaBusinessCentral.com). 

The latest interview was held with Dr. Victor Cha, former Director for Asian Affairs in the White House's National Security Council and current Director of the Asian Studies Program at Georgetown University. Dr. Cha is author of Beyond the Final Score: The Politics of Sport in Asia.

Here is the link to the interview audio:

In addition, the discussion and transcript can be found on Korea Business Central at the following link: http://www.koreabusinesscentral.com/forum/topics/korea-business-central-3

(The full list of interviews can be found here: http://www.koreabusinesscentral.com/page/interviews-2)

Main points of the interview:

Topic #1 - KORUS and the Korean Economy

1. The Korean economy is improving thanks to the current Korean government's expansionary fiscal policy, which sets the administration up for good results in the June local elections.
2. The Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) will lead to increased economic activity in both the US and Korea. 
3. The Obama administration is starting to say the right things about trade and passage of KORUS will ultimately depend on a big push by the White House.
4. In addition to being the largest bilateral free trade agreement negotiated by the US, KORUS is also important in terms of the template it offers for future free trade agreements.
5. It is unlikely that the US Congress will do anything on KORUS until after the US mid-term elections in November.
6. The main sticking points to passage of KORUS by the US Congress include trade terms for beef and automobiles. These will likely be dealt with through side agreements, rather than renegotiation of the main agreement text
7. Passage of KORUS is expected to benefit US automakers, citrus growers and various service industries, among others.

Topic #2 - Economic Engagement Between South and North Korea

• North Korea is not taking up the Lee Myung-Bak government's "3,000 Proposal", which promises North Korea a per-capital income of $3,000/year within ten years if North Korea will denuclearize and improve its human rights record with South Korea. Therefore, economic engagement between North and South Korea has gone into reverse under the current administration.

Topic #3 - Sports Diplomacy in Asia

1. Dr. Cha's idea for his book Beyond the Final Score: The Politics of Sport in Asia came after seeing the newsworthiness of sports on a visit to Australia with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
2. The seminal case of sports diplomacy was "ping-pong diplomacy" which lead to China's opening to the United States in the 1970s.
3. Since then, Korea has been very successful in promoting diplomatic initiatives through sports, such as the Seoul Summer Olympics in 1988, where Korea's efforts eventually led to the normalization of relations between the Soviet Union and South Korea in 1990.
4. Korean success in the recent Vancouver Winter Olympics positions Korea well to host a future Winter Olympics in Korea.