S. Korea reception celebrates Maine

SEOUL, South Korea – On Tuesday night in downtown Seoul, more than 100 people gathered to celebrate Maine people, products and services at a reception held by the Maine International Trade Center.

As part of its gubernatorial trade mission to South Korea and Japan, MITC brought together the Maine businesses on the mission and the contacts they have made in Asia so far. Also on the 130-member guest list were U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow, former South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Hong-Choo Hyun and a few Maine expatriates now living in South Korea.

Chang-Sup Song, a managing director for Fairchild Semiconductor Corp. in Bucheon, South Korea, addressed the crowd, heralding Maine business practices and his experience working at Fairchild’s headquarters in South Portland. Song also encouraged the audience to visit “the beautiful coastline of Acadia.”

In their speeches, both Vershbow and Gov. John Baldacci noted that in 2006, South Korea was Maine’s fifth-largest export market, receiving the majority of its $112 million worth of goods in pulp and paper and machinery. Vershbow noted several similarities between South Korea and Maine, such as their rugged coastlines, love of seafood and wariness of outsiders.

“But there is something more compelling that binds Korea and Maine: trade,” Vershbow said. “Over the past five years, Maine’s exports to Korea have tripled. Korea has, in turn, been a great partner for the state, investing over $4 million in Maine enterprises.”

After the speeches, guests feasted on sushi and a variety of Korean dishes. Some washed it down with Cold River vodka, made by a Freeport company that joined the mission.

“This [trade mission] is to me immensely rewarding and emotionally satisfying. I’ve really tried to maintain my connections to Maine,” said Thomas Pinansky, a Cape Elizabeth native who now works as a lawyer in Seoul. Pinansky declares himself to be “the world’s only Down East, Far East lawyer.” He is also a counsel to Preti Flaherty, a law firm in Portland that is participating in the trade mission in an effort to reach more South Korean clients.

Ray Webb, head of Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft, greeted the parents of some of the 23 South Korean students at his school. Korean students represent more than half of the 41 international students at Foxcroft Academy, and Webb joined the trade mission to find ways to attract more Korean and Japanese students.

“Tuition aside, these students each spend between $1,500 and $2,000 in Dover-Foxcroft each year,” Webb said, emphasizing international students’ economic contributions as well as their enhancement of the diversity of the school.

One barrier to continued U.S. exports to South Korea is tariffs. In his speech, Vershbow spoke with confidence of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, or KORUS FTA, which awaits passage by Congress and the South Korean government. The agreement will generate billions of savings by eliminating tariffs if passed.

“When the KORUS FTA is ratified by both our countries, it will strengthen our wider relationship and enhance investment, tourism and academic exchanges,” Vershbow said.