(Unofficial Translation)

Honorable Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, Business Sweden CEO Ylva Berg, Korea International Trade Association Chairman Kim Young-ju and business leaders from Korea and Sweden, I am glad to meet you all.

This Korea-Sweden Business Summit is being held in Seoul just six months after Stockholm hosted its Sweden-Korea Business Summit in June. These two alternating business summits seem to make our friendship even more special in this year marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between our two countries. I am deeply grateful to the Prime Minister and Swedish business leaders for visiting Seoul with a large business delegation.

Sweden has used innovation to promote the dignity of humanity and universal values, all while coexisting with nature.

Carl von Linné, the father of botany, and Jöns Jacob Berzelius, who established modern atomic theory, helped lead human progress with science. Nobel Prizes, a great legacy of humanity, have served as a compass pointing toward a common ideal through unceasing exploration.  

The spirit of Sweden has always been creating new standards.

In the early 20th century, Sweden built public libraries in the belief that knowledge could change the lives of workers, thereby enhancing the general public’s level of knowledge. Swedish businesses and employees have achieved mutual benefits and rapid innovation. 

The country’s corporate culture that respects a woman’s right to work guarantees that work and family life are compatible, raising welfare society standards. Such global innovations as Volvo’s three-point seat belt, Ikea’s ready-to-assemble furniture and Tetra Pak’s aseptic packaging system also illustrate Sweden’s philosophy that treasures everyone’s happiness. 

Ranked 1st in the European Innovation Scoreboard and 2nd in the Best Countries for Business, Sweden, an advanced country in terms of social trust, is an exemplary model for a future society. Korea will learn from and grow together with Sweden, thus becoming a responsible member of the global community as well.

Business leaders from Korea and Sweden, 

Sweden’s love for humanity and its innovative spirit are the same as what Korea aims to cultivate. Korea and Sweden equally value the importance of climate change responses and sustainable development as well as a people-centered Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Our two countries have already been reaping significant results from cooperation in such new industries as 5G, biohealth and electric vehicles.

Ericsson worked together with Korean businesses for the 5G trial services during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and the world’s first commercialization of 5G services. The telecommunication equipment developed by Ericsson-LG is being supplied to domestic 5G networks. Ericsson is also pushing ahead with technology cooperation with SK Telecom and KT to upgrade 5G services and prepare for the 6th generation of mobile communication.

Following its decision to invest US$630 million in Korea, global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is expanding cooperation into the development of new drugs, creation of a biohealth ecosystem and a joint advance into the global market.

Bilateral cooperation for technological convergence has begun between the areas of next-generation materials, such as carbon, parts and equipment, and the sectors of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. This will help develop the core capabilities needed to lead smart cities and smart mobility.

If our two countries take it a step further from here, it will be possible to write a new chapter in the history of business. 

First, our two countries have to expand cooperation in future industries and create an environment for innovation.

Your creative ideas and spirit to take on new challenges constitute the foundation for the creation of an innovative ecosystem. The Government will provide active support.

By signing an MOU on cooperation between the governments in June this year, the two countries laid the institutional foundation for collaboration in industrial resources, SMEs and the field of innovation. The Korea Startup Center to be established in Stockholm next year will serve as a venue for exchanges between startups from both countries.

Second, the two countries have to further deepen bilateral cooperation for sustainable development.

To transition to an eco-friendly economy, Sweden aims to achieve its goal of zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2045 and increase renewable energies’ share of power generation to 100 percent by 2040.  

As a member of the international community, Korea has been fulfilling its responsibilities as well by implementing Asia’s first emissions trading scheme in 2015 and working to achieve the goals of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent from its business-as-usual level forecast for 2030 and increasing renewable energy’s share of power generation to 35 percent by 2040.

A policy paradigm shift to respond to climate change will go beyond Korea and the European Union and spread to other economic regions, providing more opportunities for Korean and Swedish businesses. 

Korea Midland Power and S-Energy, both based in Korea, are scheduled to participate in Sweden’s solar and wind power generation projects. Sweden’s Volvo Car Group and Korea’s LG Chem agreed to further strengthen their cooperation on electric cars in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and science and technology exchanges will be more invigorated through a Northern Europe science and technology base center opening next year.  

Third, when peace is established on the Korean Peninsula, a space for taking on new challenges will be created. 

Sweden and other Northern European countries have built upon peace to achieve inclusiveness and innovation and have become the happiest countries in the world. 

Peace on the Korean Peninsula will lead to the connection of continental and oceanic networks. When inter-Korean roads and railroads are connected, land routes will emerge that extend to Scandinavia through the Eurasian Continent. The Northern Sea Route will open up with the Korean Peninsula as a base, allowing eco-friendly ships to sail between the Pacific and Arctic oceans. 

Sweden has proven that peace drives the economy, and the economy, in turn, drives peace. Peace on the Korean Peninsula will provide more opportunities to businesses in our two countries. I ask our business leaders to work together so that peace and a free trade system on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia can make progress. 

Honorable Prime Minister and business leaders from our two countries, 

There is a Swedish proverb, “True friends visit us in prosperity only when invited, but in adversity they come without invitation.” To Korea, Sweden is a genuine friend that has unwaveringly given a helping hand.

Korea will endeavor for common prosperity together with Sweden with an understanding of the importance of the harmony between nature and humankind and social values. As Sweden accomplished social and economic progress through the concept of “the people’s home,” Korea will build a country where everyone prospers together through mutual benefit and unity. 

Businesspeople are the foundation of friendship and cooperation between our two countries. I am looking forward to the trust and friendship built over the past 60 years deepening further through bilateral economic cooperation. 

Tack så mycket. Thank you.