Be the Hub of Finance First to Be a Northeast Hub

William Oberlin, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM), said Friday that if Korea is to be an economic hub in the northeast Asia, the first thing the nation should do is set up a strategy to emerge as a financial center.

“All the hubs started from finance,” stressed the AMCHAM chairman at a lecture meeting held under the International Management Institute at the Federation of Korean Industries. “The reason Singapore and Hong Kong are spotlighted is that they are hubs of finance.”

His remark seemed very different from the plans of the Presidential Transition Team (PTC) to raise IT of the local companies.

In order for Korea to grow as an Asian hub, he emphasized that it should expand the predictability of policies, raise the labor flexibility, standardize the law and institution in terms of globalism, raise the transparency of corporate governance, lower the individual income tax and improve the national image.

“The reality is that foreigners are holding back investment, saying ‘let’s wait and see for a while,’ ” Oberlin added. “The Korean government should let the world know about its strong will to peacefully resolve the problem on the peninsula.”

Mi-Kyung Jung mickey@donga.com