(Unofficial Translation)

Your Majesty, President José Luis Bonet of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, Chairman Park Yongmaan of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, distinguished guests and business leaders from our two countries, 

Encantado! (I’m delighted to be here.)

Your Majesty is personally involved in the development of new science and technology and the advancement of the Spanish economy. Thanks to your encouragement, I believe today’s business forum will achieve even greater cooperation among our two nations’ businesspeople.

Spain has a history of leading the world into the Age of Commerce. It was first ever to be called a “country where the sun never sets” in human history, and such potential continues today, with Spaniards plying the five oceans and traversing the six continents.    

 When Europeans wanted to go out to other lands by sea, they had to go through Spain. To the west, it has established close ethnic, religious and linguistic ties with Latin America, while to the south it has connections with North Africa. Its cooperation with Asia, including Korea, has also been deepening through its “Strategic Vision for Spain in Asia.”  

Spain's role as a bridging country linking a continent and ocean is what Korea envisions. For its part, Korea will connect a continent and ocean by leveraging its geopolitical advantage as a peninsular country and use that strength to achieve peace and prosperity. Korea’s New Northern Policy aims to expand the foundation for cooperation from China and Russia to Central Asia and Europe. At the same time, our New Southern Policy is designed to develop cooperative ties for mutual prosperity with ASEAN member states, India, and Pacific Rim nations.

Korea and Spain are both gateways and hubs where continents and oceans meet. There are many fields in which to cooperate based on our common geopolitical strengths. Spain is at the western end of Eurasia, while Korea on the easternmost edge. I am convinced that if we work closely together, we can more quickly realize greater prosperity for both of us.     

Business leaders of Korea and Spain,

Trade between our two countries has continued to increase since the Korea-EU FTA went into effect in 2011. Last year, bilateral trade volume reached US$5.5 billion, the highest ever. The scale of business our two nations have jointly conducted in third countries is close to US$13 billion through the first nine months of this year.  

The number of direct flights between our two countries increased last year, bringing us closer together. The number of Korean visitors to Spain has grown seven-fold over the past seven years, surpassing 500,000 last year. 

A half-century ago, Korea opened a deep-sea fishing station in Las Palmas in the Spanish autonomous community of the Canary Islands. That location was far from home at the time, but it has grown much closer now, to the extent that Koreans have even filmed a variety show on neighboring Tenerife Island.

Koreans have been fond of Spain for a long time. We love the works of Spanish artists, including Cervantes, Picasso and Gaudí. We are fascinated by Spaniards’ embrace of both the Christian and Islamic cultures, and we envy your passion for football. At the same time, many people in Spain now increasingly enjoy K-Pop, Korean movies and Korean food. Spain has also become a taekwondo powerhouse, having garnered six Olympic medals.       

Our two countries are rapidly getting closer, and our cooperation will increase going forward.

Today, I’d like to offer three proposals for cooperation in the interest of mutual prosperity.

First, we should work together on the digital economy in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. 

Spain and Korea have been commercializing 5G telecom services from this year, indicating that we both have outstanding ICT expertise and infrastructure. We can bolster our collaborative efforts in autonomous vehicles, smart cities and other core 5G services.

Spain's Connected Industry 4.0 project aims to raise productivity by combining the manufacturing sector with information and communication technologies. Korea is also promoting a vision and strategy for a manufacturing renaissance with a view to fostering new industries for the Fourth Industrial Revolution while innovating existing industries.   

If our two nations with the same vision broaden cooperation based on mutual interest, we will create synergies in each other's manufacturing innovation.

Korea will take part as a guest country of honor in Spain’s Connected Industry 4.0 Conference, scheduled to open next month. This is expected to serve as a starting point to further cement cooperation between our two countries in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Second, we should cooperate together on environment-friendly energy in response to climate change.

Reducing fossil fuel consumption and expanding the use of renewable energy is both a challenge and an opportunity for both of our manufacturing-based economies.  

To switch over to an environment-friendly economy, Spain has established a Climate Change and Energy Transition roadmap, with a target of 100% electricity generation through renewable resources by 2050. As an advanced nation in using new and renewable energy, Spain is already ranked the world’s first in solar energy generation, fifth in wind energy generation, and tenth in photovoltaic energy generation.   

Korea also aims to increase rapidly the percentage of renewables in the energy mix in order to achieve sustainable development, and so we have much to learn from Spain.

Our two countries have amassed outstanding technologies and experience. Spanish enterprises have completed wind farms in Korea, and Korean businesses are also pushing ahead with a project to build a massive photovoltaic power station with 1,000MW capacity in Spain.

Increasing investments and exchanges between our two countries’ businesses will open the doors for even greater opportunities in the future.

Third, we should diversify our cooperation by jointly going offshore for construction and infrastructure projects.

Demand for construction and infrastructure is increasing around the world in order to build the foundation for economic growth.

Spain is strong in identifying new feasible projects and in engineering as well as in facility operation, maintenance and repair, while Korea has strengths in construction work and project financing. Great results are achieved when companies from our two countries jointly advance into third-country markets.       

Early this year, our two countries accelerated the joint involvement in Latin American and Asian construction projects. We have also agreed to expand cooperation between our state-run companies in the railroad, air, and transportation sectors.    

I’d like to see the roads and railroads built by Spain and Korea help stimulate the global economy. I also hope the MOUs on cooperation in trade and investment signed yesterday will prime the pump for the further expansion of private sector cooperation and investment in our two countries.

Your Majesty and business leaders of our two countries,

The Spanish writer Baltasar Gracián said, “To have friends is a second being.”

Both our countries have overcome historical difficulties and achieved high levels of economic development and mature democracies. We are alike in many ways, and we have become true friends.

The world faces many challenges going forward, including the Fourth Industrial Revolution, climate change and polarization. By working together, our two countries will muster greater courage and strength to overcome them.

Next year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between our two countries. The friendship of our two countries will only grow stronger in the days ahead, and we will come to have a new world through our being together.  

Muchas gracias! Thank you very much!