Good morning, fellow Koreans,

I returned home last weekend from a four-day trip to Malaysia and Indonesia. It was a tough schedule; I had to spend two nights on the plane, but I came back with significant achievements in the economy and security.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia made a visit to Korea to attend the G20 Seoul Summit even though his country had been hard hit by the catastrophe of a volcanic eruption.

At the Korea-Indonesia summit this time and before the Indonesian cabinet, military commanders, commissioner-general of the national police and my delegation, President Yudhoyono officially expressed the willingness of Indonesia to accept the Republic of Korea as the main partner in its ambitious economic development plan over the next 10 years. To give shape to this plan, a group of special envoys will be sent to Korea early next year.

Indonesia is one of the newly emerging economies; it has a population of 230 million, a land size nine times the Korean Peninsula and abundant natural resources. If bilateral economic cooperation proceeds as planned, we will be able to newly advance into the world’s third largest market next to China and India.

Indonesia has long been the center of the non-alignment movement, but it worked closely with Korea at the G20 Seoul Summit. On top of that, Jakarta strongly criticized Pyongyang for its recent shelling of Yeonpyeong island.

My visit to Malaysia was made on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties this year. In the early 1980s, Malaysia tried to learn Korea’s development experience based on the Look East Policy of then Prime Minister Mahathir. But it has now grown into the 10th most competitive country in the world, which is way ahead of Korea’s ranking. It is about time for Korea to learn a lot from this Southeast Asian nation.

During the summit this time, our two countries reached an agreement to prepare for negotiations on a Korea-Malaysia FTA and decided to further expand and strengthen bilateral cooperation in nuclear power plants and green technologies.

It is true that we have been somewhat negligent in paying due attention to trade and exchanges with the 10 ASEAN countries. Our relations with these countries, however, have been progressing by leaps and bounds since the start of my Administration’s New Asia Initiative and the conclusion of the Korea-ASEAN FTA.

Trade with ASEAN, including Indonesia and Malaysia, has reached US$100 billion this year. This market is now bigger than that of the United States and Japan in size.

We will make all-out efforts to double the trade volume with ASEAN within the next five years.

My visit this time served as an opportunity to reaffirm ASEAN’s dynamism, diversity and limitless potential. For the future of Korea, it is necessary to further expand people-to-people exchanges with ASEAN member nations in the areas of culture, education and tourism in addition to economic collaboration.

The conclusion of the KORUS FTA, which came after the Korea-EU FTA, will be yet another opportunity for the Republic to embark on a journey toward great fortunes. Korea has so far established FTAs with 45 nations around the world. Currently, the nation is engaging in discussions to conclude FTAs with 12 countries, including Canada, Australia, Turkey and Colombia. Working-level consultations with China and Japan are also underway to pave the way for future FTA negotiations.

If the KORUS FTA comes into effect, Korea would become the only nation in the world to have FTAs with the world’s three largest economic blocs—the United States, the EU and ASEAN. Though small in terms of land size, Korea is poised to emerge with the largest economic territory and as a hub for free trade.

Korea is highly dependent on trade, with international trade amounting to 82 percent of the gross domestic product. Free trade is the sole means of survival for us. In this connection, we have strongly emphasized the importance of free trade and the rejection of protectionist moves in overcoming crises at G20 Summits.

The conclusion of the FTA constitutes a way to forge the strongest economic partnership going beyond any other kind of alliance. Through the conclusion of this economic partnership with the United States, the bilateral security alliance will also be further bolstered.

Some people argue that we made too great a concession to the United States in the area of automobiles. This year alone, however, the number of exported vehicles to the States amounted to 950,000 while imports reached only 12,000.

Our automobile manufacturers have a competitive edge. By making concessions in the area where we can afford to, we are aiming at gaining much greater economic benefits.

In particular, as the current 4 percent tariff on auto parts will be abolished, the nation’s parts exports, which have been increasing rapidly, will gain even bigger momentum. At the same time, the competitiveness of Korean automobile manufacturers based overseas will be boosted substantially.

The FTA is quite significant in that it paves the way for small and medium-sized enterprises to expand exports. It is necessary to evaluate the KORUS FTA comprehensively encompassing all areas of concern. The agreement is bound to enhance the competitiveness of the Republic and create more jobs.

Fellow Koreans,

Next year, the global economy in general is expected to slow down compared to this year. Accordingly, the growth curve of the Korean economy is anticipated to be dulled somewhat. At times like this, the country needs to maximize the economic effects of the FTAs, further bolstering our exports.

This year, Korea has registered the highest growth among OECD countries, placing itself in the seventh spot in the world in terms of exports. This feat is the fruit of the hard work of everyone—the workers, entrepreneurs and individual citizens. This year, the Government plans to complete annual briefings of all the ministries and agencies early, from December 14 through 30. That means the actual implementation of next year’s budget will be ready as soon as the New Year begins.

This is a far cry from the past practice of making such briefings during the three months after the New Year began. In this way, the time schedule of various government projects and budget outlays will be advanced by three months, yielding substantial benefits for the nation.

Fellow citizens,

The year is drawing to a close, and I especially hope that everyone will look around once more to help neighbors in need. The Government has been diligent in taking care of the vulnerable and marginalized citizens, but I know it is not nearly sufficient.

I really hope that the yearend holiday season will see everyone’s caring hands sharing whatever they can and touching the hearts of everyone else around them.

At the same time, I am mindful that the members of our Armed Forces are enduring the freezing temperatures on the frontline and elsewhere. Nonetheless, I ask them to do their best for the sake of the nation.

My fellow Koreans,

Take good care of yourselves in this severe weather, especially against the common cold.

Thank you very much.