Local News

During an interview conducted in Seoul with Nishinippon President Takao Kawasaki and other media representatives, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said his government would begin discussions in the second half of this year concerning the creation of a super-regional economic zone that would include the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula and Kyushu. The creation of such a zone was one of President Lee’s campaign promises in the presidential election earlier this year, but this is the first time he has referred to the issue since taking office. Companies and local governments in Kyushu and the Busan area of South Korea have been rapidly building ties, but this is the first time the South Korean government will become officially involved.