South Korea is Australia's third-largest trading partner. In 2014, the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement entered into force. Korean investment in Australia totals over $A31 billion, with Australian outward investment in the ROK exceeding $A22 billion. Major ROK firms, such as Hanwha Defense Australia, are heavily enmeshed in Australian defence materiel procurement.
The ROK has the potential to become one of Australia's major partner for Australia, particularly as the ROK focuses on innovation to drive its economic growth. A solid foundation of bilateral cooperation exists, yet there is much scope to increase collaboration, particularly in connecting Australia's strength in research and the ROK's expertise in applied research and commercialised innovation.
Speakers include:
- Mr. Ron Green, Austrade Commissioner to South Korea, on hydrogen, carbon trading and critical minerals.
- Mr. Chris Cho, HFW Lawyers,on investment trends between Australia and Korea.
- Mr. Owen Grey, General Manager, Marketing, Iluka Minerals, on critical minerals .
- Professor San-Chul Park, Director, Center for Supporting Small Champion Corporations, Korea Polytechnic University.
- Professor Patrick Butler, MBA Director, Monash Business School, Next-Generation leaders in Australia and Korea.
- Dr. S.J. Yea, KIEP, on global tax reform and its impact on FDI in Korea.
- A Roundtable on the Future of Security in the Indo-Pacific region, with Jeffrey Seung Choi, Monash University, Dr. Jiyun Kih, Incheon National University, Korea, Mr. Peter Lee, ANU, Dr. Michael O’Keefe, La Trobe University , Dr. Lauren Richardson, ANU, Associate Professor Maria Rost Rublee, Monash and Dr. Remy Davison, Monash.
Aimed at business, finance, and defence & security policy professionals, as well as tertiary and further education researchers, the 2021 Monash Australia-Korea Conference, in partnership with the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), and the Australia-Korea Business Council, explores international trade, business, eCommerce, investment, services and Indo-Pacific security.
This conference acknowledges the generous financial support of the Australia- Korea Foundation and the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade.
