Cheong, Inkyo

Abstract
For several years after the financial crisis, Korea was quite an active participant in the ASEAN+3 process, leading the discussions on East Asian economic cooperation through the proposals for the establishment of the East Asian Vision Group (EAVG) and the East Asian Study Group (EASG). At that time, it was difficult for China and Japan, which tend to distrust each other and hold each other in check, to carry out active roles in these ongoing processes. This paper examines the position of Korea and the country’s contribution to East Asian economic integration in the ASEAN+3 process after it overcame its financial crisis, and examines the current state of affairs regarding the promotion of an East Asia FTA with China and Japan. Based on such an analysis, the policy direction of the Korean government and its implications will be presented. What position Lee Myung-bak’s government, which took power in 2008, will take with regard to East Asian economic integration is not clearly known at the present time. Before attending the next East Asia Summit meeting for the first time since it took power, the government should solicit the opinions of ordinary Koreans and experts through a public debate on what direction East Asian economic cooperation should take in the coming years.
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