KORUS FTA: Wendy Cutler and Kim Ghee-whan

By the time you read this, the KORUS FTA will have entered the implementation stage. To celebrate, Korean Kontext caught up with two of the main movers-and-shakers behind the deal to find out more about what it was like to work on the agreement and learn about their thoughts and hopes as things now move forward. Starting the conversation, Korean Kontext spoke to Ms. Wendy Cutler, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Japan, Korea and APEC Affairs. During the conversation she talked about how the post-FTA U.S. – Korea relationship fits into the broader regional economic picture, what it had been like to work on Korea over the past decade, and what challenges still remained. To get a better impression of Seoul’s perspective, Korean Kontext went to the ROK Embassy to speak to Minister for Economic Affairs Kim Ghee-Whan about his view on the agreement. He explained why the deal was so beneficial to Korea, how his country would take full advantage of it, and how he had found working in the U.S. Download the podcast here and celebrate the implementation of what some are now calling the “third pillar” of the U.S. – Korea alliance.