Martin Uden

More on Sir Andrew Cahn's visit

Sir Andrew Cahn’s visit last week served to show how important the EU/Korea FTA should be for UK/Korean trade when it comes into force hopefully later this year. It was a recurrent theme in most of his meetings, but was also centre-stage at a meeting we held for representatives of British business in Korea. It’s going to affect them differently, depending on their market segment, but they are keen to hear about our plans to identify the opportunities that will arise for business here. In fact though, the difficult part is not trying to get the message out to companies and individuals that are already here – it’s telling companies in the UK that don’t have the Korean market on their radar screen as yet. But we have various plans to get the word out in the coming months back in the UK, and I’ll write about that more in the next few weeks.

Posted at 17:57 08 February 2010 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]

Korean investment in Britain changes direction

It's been great to have Andrew Cahn, the head of UK Trade and Investment on his first ever trip to Korea.  He's been able to talk a lot about the potential of our two countries in the trade and investment relationship.  One recent development that really marks a change in the way Korean companies look at the UK has been the investment in a small number of UK companies that had good technology but for varying reasons needed new owners.  Most recently (just last week) the chemicals subsidiary of the Lotte Group bought Artenius UK from its administrators and are looking to re-open its chemicals plant on Teesside.  And early last year Dong-Ah Tires bought Avon Automotive's Vibration Management Systems, and now employ 180 people in the South-West of England.  The largest ever Korean investment in the UK came in 2006 when Doosan Heavy Industries bought Mitsui Babcock. 

This is only a small number of investments over about 3 years, but it's still a large vote of confidence in these firms - and Doosan Babcock has been a great example, treading the recruitment trail very heavily, adding jobs in several locations across the UK since Doosan took over including many research positions at their R&D centre in Renfrew.  In each case, I hope that UK technology and our highly skilled workforce can continue to combine with Korean manufacturing skills to move these companies forward further still.

Posted at 13:46 03 February 2010 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]

Presentations and Poetry: An Honour at the Burns' Supper

One of the greatest pleasures of being an Ambassador is being involved in the honours process - particularly when it comes to handing them out.  Of course most recipients of awards decide to make the trip to Buckingham Palace to receive their awards there, but the non-British holders of honorary awards don't have that option.  While I have been able to present the medals to some British awardees, it's more common to be involved in presenting the honorary awards.  So it was on Saturday night at the annual Burns' Supper, organised by the local St Andrew's Society, that I was able to present Maria Mackay with the insignia of an MBE.  It's very unusual indeed for a couple to have his and hers MBEs, but in this case Gavin Mackay was made an MBE in 1996.  Maria's contribution to UK/Korea relations has been through 20 years on the committee of the British Association of Seoul, a spell as Executive Secretary of the British Chamber of Commerce, a vital part of the St Andrew's Society and not least with husband Gavin in bringing Scottish cuisine to Korea through their firm, "Gavin's Sausages." I could go on, but would only serve to embarrass the extremely modest Maria.

Posted at 18:30 01 February 2010 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]

Freedom of Expression in the Digital Age

Korea is a world leader in digital technology and internet use. An active debate has begun here about how to manage the challenges and risks that the internet brings and how much regulation there should be. In partnership with the Korea Communications Commission and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism we organised a seminar last July on Freedom of Expression on the Internet. Hundreds participated.  We had clearly found a theme that resonated here, so much so that Representative Chung Doo-un of the ruling Grand National Party, a key speaker last July, organised a follow-up seminar this week at the National Assembly. The Korea Internet Self-governance Organisation (KISO) was a key partner and we were delighted that National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o lent his support.

We arranged for John Carr, a leading UK expert on the internet, and child safety issues in particular to come to Korea and share his experience. It is important to maintain a proper balance between criminal law and self regulation. Some activities - fraud, child pornography - will be illegal whether they occur on or off line, but we need to be very careful when it comes to free speech not to protect politicians and public officials from legitimate comment and criticism. There was a lively discussion on these issues and on the appropriate model for Korea. The Conference was also streamed live on Twitter, with viewers able to put questions to the speakers. Another demonstration of how digitally advanced Korea is.

Posted at 16:39 29 January 2010 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]

Backing the Bid in Seoul

Even though I was seeing one of the country's most powerful politicians - Dr Chung Mong-Joon, the Chairman of the ruling Grand National Party - in fact almost our conversation was about football.  But this wasn't dereliction of diplomatic duty, since Dr Chung is also the Vice-President of FIFA and so one of the 24 people who will decide where the World Cup will be played in 2018 and 2022.  Of course England has a bid for both years, and Korea is also bidding for 2022, so Dr Chung and I have discussed our bids before, and I'm sure we will again before the decision is taken in December this year.    The preparations in England are moving ahead and UK diplomats like me are making sure that where there is a member of the FIFA committee in their country we take every opportunity to keep in touch with them.  

This is going to be another important issue this year, made of course all the more topical by the excitement of the World Cup in South Africa where, for the first time, both North and South Korea have qualified to play.   With world-class football stadiums, excellent infrastructure and a tremendous passion for international football, England has a strong bid.  Fingers crossed for December!"

British Ambassador, Martin Uden, meets Dr Chung Mong-joon

Posted at 17:26 15 January 2010 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]

Practising law in Korea

I was recently asked by the Korean Bar Association to be the inaugural speaker at a new series of talks they are hosting in order to help the profession have a more globalised approach. I spoke to them about my own reflections as a diplomat who trained as a lawyer, and mentioned the changes that the EU/Korea Free Trade Agreement will bring to rules about how foreign lawyers can work in Korea.

Once the FTA comes into effect, lawyers licensed to practise in the EU will be able to provide legal advice in Korea on the European jurisdiction where they are qualified and on international law. Two years after entry into force of the FTA, EU law firms will be permitted to open representative offices to co-operate with local law firms and advise on legal issues that involve a mix of domestic and foreign or international law. Finally, after five years, EU law firms will be allowed to invest in local law firms and hire Korean lawyers.

The big change here is not that foreign lawyers will be able to practise in the law of other countries; if a UK lawyer wants to practise in Korea and advise on Korean law, they would need to qualify here as a Korean lawyer. But it will be possible in future for UK law firms to set up offices here and through employing Korean lawyers, they will be able to meet their clients’ needs in advising on a variety of different kinds of law.

I expect both Korean and British firms will benefit greatly from the resulting legal co-operation.  Korea has the lowest number of lawyers per capita in the OECD and the opening up of its legal market will be an opportunity for British law firms, who are among the best in the world. The UK continues to be a global leader in the legal sector due to its strong skills base and global orientation. But Korea also stands to benefit greatly from access to a wider pool of legal advice, from lawyers who have experience of working in multiple jurisdictions and representing a wide range of clients.

Posted at 17:24 12 January 2010 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]

Hopes for 2010

It’s hard to imagine a more important year for Korea. It faces exciting challenges and will take on more and more of a leading role in international affairs, but will also have the chance to look back and see what it has achieved with some significant anniversaries.

The anniversaries are at least easy to predict. It will be one hundred years since Korea became a colony of Japan; 60 years since the start of the Korean War; and 40 years since the Kwangju uprising. The progress that Korea has made – in its own very real independence, its freedom and its respect for human rights – will rightly be an occasion for celebration, although there will always be reservations in remembering the victims of these events in Korean history.

2010 sees Korea take on the Chair of the G20 process and it will also act as host of the November G20 Summit in Seoul. These will be real tests, not so much of the complicated logistical and protocol issues, but rather of Korea’s diplomatic leadership. Having seen so much of Korea’s role so far in the G20, I am confident that we will see a success that Korea can be proud of.  One welcome contribution to global economic prosperity and the fight against protectionism will be the entry into force of the EU/Korea FTA.  This could spur trade between the two by as much as US$30 billion and we will be trying to ensure that British businesses are aware of the opportunities that the agreement will offer.

I expect too that Korea will want to continue to lead by example when it comes to climate change. Indeed there is news this morning that President Lee has been in touch with UNSG Ban on this very subject.  I continue to believe that Korea could play a very important leadership role here.  Korea should continue to lead by example in making the transition to a low carbon economy.  But it would also be welcome to see Korea using its increasing influence worldwide to move this agenda forward in the coming months. 

Similarly, Korea is increasing its engagement in international efforts to tackle global security threats. Recent announcements by the Korean Government indicating that they are planning to deliver a civil/military Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan's Parwan Province, as well as continuing the military deployments to Somalia and Lebanon, also demonstrate a very welcome commitment to international security at a level that matches Korea's economic stature.

The final issue that is going to be such an honour to be part of will be re-visits by veterans of the Korean War. Some 58,000 British Servicemen fought with the United Nations in Korea during the Korean War and in the immediate aftermath of the Armistice. Britain was second only to the US in the contribution it made to the UN effort in Korea.   The Korean government has very big plans to bring back a large number of the survivors, and we are looking forward to making a distinctive UK contribution with a new UK memorial in the UN Cemetery in Pusan.

It will certainly be an interesting and exciting year.

Posted at 13:57 05 January 2010 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[1]

Celtic joins Man Utd and Bolton in signing Korean football star

I was very pleased to welcome the latest Korean football star going to play in Britain and wish him every success.  This was Ki Sung-yeung, who has been playing for FC Seoul (and was voted Asia's Young Footballer of the Year) and is about to move to Glasgow to play for Celtic.  We held a small reception at the Residence to bid him farewell and to help raise Celtic's profile here.  There's no question that Manchester United's already high profile has been further raised in Korea by having Park Ji-sung on their squad, and I think it's fair to say that not many Koreans had heard of Bolton Wanderers before Lee Chung-yong started to play for them.  But now we see Lee and news of Bolton's games regularly on the Korean sports pages. Celtic are very well known already in China and Japan because of players from there who've played for the club and the same is likely to happen in Korea now.  It was good to notice that Ki already speaks good English since he's spent quite some time in Australia, so he's going to find it easier to assimilate in Glasgow as a result.

Posted at 11:30 23 December 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]

Climate Change Online Campaign with SK

In my blog last October, I introduced an online climate change campaign on Cyworld, run in partnership with the British Embassy, British Council and SK.  The campaign was designed to encourage people to move to low carbon living and to call for action from world leaders at the Copenhagen talks.  The campaign on this website is now coming to an end and has been a great success.  There are already over 2 million hits, 36,000 visits to the pages of famous Korean bloggers who participated in the project, and over 2,500 people have pledged their support for action at Copenhagen.

Back in November, Korean ‘Flower Boy’ Mr Kim Beom visited London for two weeks to film a documentary on UK’s low carbon lifestyles.  He shares many photos, videos and a blog from his visit to London with his fans in Asia via his ‘Twitter’ pages.  This campaign has also been designated as a Digital Diplomacy Case Study for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and sent out to my colleagues in the Asia-Pacific region. My thanks go to SK Communications, SK Telecom, SK Energy and the British Council for making great progress through this campaign which is covered here by Korean media. 

As the negotiations in Copenhagen draw to a close I hope to see a fair, ambitious and effective agreement to tackle the threat of climate change.  Please watch the final video clip of our campaign to see why it is so important!

Posted at 10:32 17 December 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]

Deepest Christmas Season

Christmas in Seoul means a lot of evening engagements, but happily a lot of the events have a strong spirit of yuletide generosity.  So in the past few weeks, the Korea-British Society has been raising money at its annual dinner for its scholarship programme which helps the Embassy sends Korean students to the UK; the British Association of Seoul held its mince pie morning at our Residence where it gave out donations to the numerous charities it supports; and the British Chamber of Commerce at its Christmas lunch raised funds for Corp Leftovers Love Sharing Community(CLLSC/Boos-rugi). Not all events I go to at this time of the year have a charitable purpose, but those that do have a special and extra meaning.

Posted at 11:57 16 December 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]

Act on Copenhagen!

We are coming to the end of week one of two weeks' intense negotiation at Copenhagen.  Both the UK and Korea are working for an ambitious deal to prevent dangerous climate change.  But what are we looking for?  Korean actor, Kim Beom, visited the Foreign and Commonwealth Office last month to find out more for himself.  Watch an extract from their conversation here:

Posted at 10:31 11 December 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]

Dispelling myths about the UK

We held a press conference at the Embassy recently to highlight UK expertise, innovation and creativity in a range of sectors.  Over the preceding two weeks, UK Trade and Investment had been running an online survey aimed at educating the Korean public about the strengths of the UK economy, and seeking their opinion on the most important contributions that UK industry has made to global society.  At the press event we highlighted these results - Burberry, the Beatles and Rolls Royce's designers were popular winners on the creative side, whilst the discovery of DNA, the computer and penicillin were all high on the list of UK scientific breakthroughs - and also discussed why the UK remains the number one destination for overseas investment in Europe.

In order to demonstrate why this is, I invited Stephen Gill  - pictured below, current President and CEO of Hewlett Packard in Korea, and formerly the head of HP in the UK - to talk about HP's experience of doing business in the UK.  Stephen cited the skills base (4 of the world's top 6 universities are in the UK), the business environment (the World Bank ranks the UK as the 5th easiest country in the world to do business) and the size of the available market (and transport links to the rest of Europe mean there are 500m consumers  in the expanded European market) as three of the key reasons for why HP employ more researchers in the UK than any other country outside of the US.

Also of interest was the discussion I had with several journalists over lunch about which sectors currently drive the UK economy.  The perception is that the UK does not make anything anymore and is solely focused on being the world's leading financial centre.  Only half of that is true.  The UK is indeed the world's leading financial centre (a World Economic Forum report confirmed this last month), but it is also the world's sixth largest manufacturer, ahead of countries such as Italy, France and Korea.  This surprised some journalists, as did the fact that the UK's creative industries (including fashion, design, music, advertising, architecture) contribute more to UK GDP than do financial services.  

I think that this event went some way to dispelling some popular myths about the UK's economy, and hope that it will encourage more Korean businesses to think about setting up business in the UK and generating new success stories for us to talk about in the years to come.

Posted at 09:36 02 December 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]

Visit to Pyongyang

I recently spent a weekend in Pyongyang, accompanying a colleague from the Foreign Office on his first visit there. It’s been a year since my first trip there. The posters around the city announce the 100-day campaign, which comes fast on the heels of the 150-day campaign – both said to be preparation for the country’s aim "to be a strong, powerful and prosperous nation by 2012". Pyongyang does appear to have been given a fresh coat of paint and pavements have been re-laid, but there are no signs of fundamental improvements. Still a lack of reliable electricity supply, public transport clearly inadequate and no reason to think that the lot of the normal citizen has got any easier.

It was interesting to take a visit to see the Dong-il market. This is probably Pyongyang’s largest official market, covering an area of maybe three football fields under three large aircraft hangar scale halls. Long lines of stalls, packed both behind with the merchants, and in front with teeming masses of buyers. Walking all the way round the halls, I was probably touching somebody else the whole time, so jam-packed was it all. There was a large range of basic everyday goods on sale - clothing, household necessities, small-scale plumbing and electrical fitments, fresh, dried and tinned food. It’s government policy that only women over 55 are allowed to work in markets, and so that’s who all the sellers were, except intriguingly if you wanted to buy angling equipment when men are apparently trusted to sell rod and tackle. There are stores around Pyongyang that sell all these sort of goods, but these markets allow some private enterprise, albeit under careful government eyes. There are also much smaller private markets, but hidden away and foreigners most definitely not welcome.

Whenever I've visited Pyongyang, I'm very conscious that what I see there isn't reflected throughout the country. Even a short drive out to Nampo (port city west of Pyongyang) showed me that. But it is also shown even more vividly by the fact that just before my visit, the UN Third Committee passed a resolution (co-sponsored by the EU among others) condemning grave violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights in the DPRK. Of course we raised these issues when we saw officials at the Foreign Ministry, but again little sign of improvement there.

Posted at 17:56 30 November 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]

Building the cities of the future

This week my Trade and Investment team organised a very interesting breakfast meeting with a UK Business Ambassador.  Lord Rogers, one of the world's most famous architects, is well-known for his iconic work such as the Lloyds Building in London and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.  Lord Rogers is also involved in designing Parc 1 Yeouido here in Seoul.

In order to meet Korea's emission reduction targets, buildings and cities are going to have to become a great deal more energy-efficient.  Lord Rogers gave a fascinating presentation on the link between urban design and sustainable development to a room full of architects and representatives of the construction industry.  The design of cities must improve to maximise use of public transport and bicycles, and make better use of space and natural resources.  He explained how the UK is making this transformation and that our architects and engineers consequently have a wealth of experience in this field. 

In particular, it was interesting to learn that the only land allowed for new buildings in London is land that is currently built on or derelict (as opposed to eating into park land and green spaces).  The two best examples are the Lea Valley which is the 2012 Olympics site and North Greenwich which has the O2 (formerly the Millennium Dome), North Greenwich transport hub, Greenwich Millennium village and the retail park.  I know this is a priority for the Korean Government too, and I look forward to seeing the development of sustainable, energy-efficient new cities.

Posted at 11:54 27 November 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]

Official changes

This week is pretty busy with G20 business.  Last week the Korean government announced a new set-up for its handling of the Chairmanship of the G20 process, and its hosting of the G20 Summit next November.  Coincidentally, this week sees a couple of important multilateral meetings in Seoul at official level to review where things now stand in the international efforts to achieve balanced economic growth and develop new international mechanisms to deal with financial issues.  There's a good team out from the Treasury in London, and I'm using that opportunity to meet the Korean officials involved in the new Korean set-up.

One other change in Korean officialdom is the announcement last week of the move of Ambassador Chun, the Korean Ambassador in London, back to Seoul to become Vice-Minister in the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.  It must be quite an upheaval for him to leave London after less than 18 months, but it's an important promotion and I'm delighted that I'll be able to work with him back here in Seoul.

Posted at 14:04 17 November 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[0]