Ambassador Crooks “Mr., on a state visit.
“Strengthen cooperation in diplomacy, security, trade, science and technology, etc.”
“President Yoon Seok-yeol’s state visit will commemorate the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Korea and the 70th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War, and will be a visit toward the future of the relationship between the two countries.”
British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks (54, photo) said that cooperation between the two countries will be strengthened in all fields, including diplomacy, security, trade, and science and technology, with President Yoon’s state visit to the UK on the 20th. This is the third state visit by a Korean president to the UK, following former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye. King Charles III chose Korea as his first state invitation since taking the throne in September last year.
Ambassador Crooks, who met at the British Embassy in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 13th, said, “The UK has a lot of interest in the Indo-Pacific region after leaving the European Union (EU). “Korea is one of the countries we cooperate most closely with in the region,” he emphasized.
President Yoon plans to hold a summit meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during his state visit until the 23rd and discuss cooperation in the economic field. In this regard, Ambassador Crooks also suggested the possibility of cooperation in the semiconductor sector, where global competition has become more intense. He said, “Britain’s ARM is good at semiconductor design, and Korea is a semiconductor manufacturing powerhouse,” and added, “It could be a good relationship that complements each other.” ARM is the company that holds the largest amount of intellectual property (IP) required for mobile semiconductor design. The structure is such that when ARM supplies IP to Samsung Electronics, Apple, Qualcomm, etc., each company designs it to suit its own products and then entrusts production to a foundry (semiconductor consignment production) company.
In the UK, interest in Korean culture is growing as bands such as Blackpink and BTS are gaining popularity. Ambassador Crooks said, “As cultural exchanges took place among young people, the Korean Wave naturally arrived in the UK,” adding, “I hope that the British royal culture will be introduced to Korea through this state visit.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.
