Importers` Ass`n: more purchases of foreign goods

The head of Korea`s importers` association said Wednesday the country`s public organizations and large-scale exporters should consider buying U.S.-made cars, adding, "The cars will run near top-notch restaurants or airports where they can be easily spotted (by Americans in South Korea).”

In an interview marking the first anniversary of the implementation of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, the Korea Importers Association’s Chairman Shin Tae-yong made a claim that could have ignited strong public criticism 10 years ago. With about 8,000 member companies, the association is the country`s biggest organization of importers, and its chairman receives top-class treatment overseas.

His status is better understood by seeing how overseas buyers are treated in Korea. When foreign ambassadors come to the country, the first they do after receiving a letter of credentials from the president is to visit the importers` organization.

“The people of Korea, the world`s eighth-largest trading country, should have a perception of reality befitting the size of their economy,” Shinn said. “Doing so would be better than suffering from trade pressure in the future.”

To many countries, Korea is a country that makes quality goods at low cost but at the same time buys few foreign-made goods. Last year, the nation traded with 242 countries and enjoyed surpluses with 172 among them, with the advantage with the U.S. alone reaching 15.2 billion dollars. More than half of Korea’s imports are raw materials.

This severe trade imbalance often causes heavy trade pressure. Shinn said this already happening in Korea. In a summit with then South Korean President Lee Myung-bak last year, Turkish President Abdullah Gül urged South Korea to resolve the trade imbalance between the two countries. In the U.S., calls are also mounting to reduce Korea`s large trade surplus.

“Korea should sell nuclear reactors and ships to countries such as Vietnam, Turkey and the Philippines. Then they would ask, ‘What about your imports?’ We should buy a lot of foreign goods at least to export ours a lot.”

Despite his argument, even the association uses domestically made vehicles for business, reflecting public sentiment against the rise in imports. Until the 2000s, Korea suffered severe trade deficits and using Korean-made goods was considered natural under the slogan of “building the country through exports.” Koreans who smoked foreign cigarettes were considered unpatriotic, and those who drove imported cars risked receiving a tax audit.

After graduating with a degree in electrical engineering from Yonsei University, Shinn started his career as a textile exporter before taking over machinery importer HanShin ITC in 1978. “The association will try to help young traders learn from their predecessors’ experiences and grow as small but strong businesses,” he said

tesomiom@donga.com