Ireland and Korea are certainly not alike population-wise: the latter is at least 10 times more populous than the former, despite their being similar in landmass.

One thing the two do have in common is a history of emigration - many people of both Korean and Irish ethnicity now live in other countries, with many of them thriving abroad.

In the aftermath of an economic crisis that now leaves Ireland facing 12 percent unemployment, the Irish Diaspora now figures as part of the plan to restore the Western European nation's economy.

In a speech at the President Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on Wednesday, Irish Ambassador to Korea Eamonn McKee told of the Global Irish Economic Forum: Taking place Sept. 18-20, the event featured 180 leading international business figures of Irish descent who gathered to share beneficial business knowledge and even, in the ambassador's words, "harsh criticism" of the nation's business climate.

McKee, delivering the keynote address at the "G20 and Overcoming the Global Financial Crisis in Asia: Strategies for Growth, Development and Prosperity" conference, said that this network was formed "not just for getting through the economic crisis, but for the next phase of economic growth."

After his speech, McKee pointed to this as a major asset that Korea and Ireland share.

"Never underestimate what the emigrant population can contribute," he said. "(A nation) must be open to foreign influence and ideas."

Other than putting its Diaspora to use, McKee said Korea could learn from Ireland's example in the realm of financial oversight. "I would say that Ireland shared in the sins of the world in lack of financial regulation," he told his audience of business people and scholars.

However, he said that his host nation could also serve as an example. "Ireland couldn't teach Korea any lessons about innovation," he said after the speech. "Korea is an inspiration."

In his speech McKee outlined the 20th century economic history of his homeland, from the "economic nationalism" that ruled in the 1930s-'40s, contributing to the Vanishing Irish - a phenomenon in which 43,000 were leaving the European country annually.

"The idea of a self-sufficient Ireland really died in the 1950s," McKee said.

Among the measures that the Irish government took in the late-50s was strategic planning based on export-led growth and promotion of foreign direct investment. A ban on foreign ownership was repealed, while import tariffs and quotas were dismantled.

The Anglo-Irish Free Trade Agreement followed in 1966, while Ireland joined the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (forerunner to the World Trade Organization) the following year, after which entry into the European Economic Community (now the European Community, part of the European Union) came in 1973.

As a result, emigration plummeted to 11,000 by 1966-71, the population expanded, and industry replaced agriculture as the greatest provider of jobs.

A second economic crisis followed in the 1980s, with unemployment reaching 20 percent and 1 percent of the population emigrating annually. The Irish government responded to this by, among other things, cutting taxes, promoting R&D and financially supporting companies that traded internationally, McKee said.

Starting in the mid-90s, Ireland underwent what is commonly known as the Celtic Tiger period, during which the country transformed itself from one of Western Europe's poorest countries to one of its wealthiest. Unemployment was less than 5 percent by 2007, and GDP grew every year from 1995 until 2008 - the year the bottom dropped out.

McKee said that unemployment may yet hit 15 percent in Ireland, and that the traditional way out of an economic downturn - devaluing the currency to drive exports - is not an option for the EU-member nation.

"Ultimately the way out of a crisis is generating enterprise," said McKee, who has a doctorate in economics from the National University of Ireland. Among their plans for recovery is banking stabilization, support for enterprise and building a "smart" economy focused on innovation.

"G20 and Overcoming the Global Financial Crisis in Asia" was organized by the Asia-Europe Perspective Forum, the Indo-Korean Business and Policy Forum, and the Institute for Economic Liberty.

Lakhvinder Singh, president of the Indo-Korean Business and Policy Forum said that the conference was organized to examine the roles that Asian countries play in the world economy and the strategies they should take.

(rjamesyork@heraldm.com)



* Article was published in The Korea Herald on Oct. 26, 2009 and can been see at
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/10/26/200910260046.asp
*