President Chen Shui-bian meets South Korean representative

This article was written by Shih Ying-ying and published by the Taiwan Journal on January 13, 2006. It reports that Shin Hee Suk, president of South Korea's Asia-Pacific Policy Research Institute, recently visited Taiwan and met with President Chen Shui-bian.

During the meeting, Chen thanked Shih for his organization's long-term commitment to ameliorating relations between Taiwan and South Korea.

Taiwan and South Korea have traditionally maintained close relations. In 2004, two-way trade between the two countries reached US$17 billion, with South Korea enjoying a trade surplus of US$6 billion with Taiwan. The resumption of direct flights between Taiwan and South Korea in 2004 and the establishment of a representative office in Busan in 2005 also signified an improvement of relations between the two countries.