“A Korea-U.S. FTA Would Be Beneficial to Both Countries”

“There was a time when the president used to summon cabinet ministers and check the increased amount of exports in the 1960s when Koreans solely depended on exports. We, too, should regularly check how much we tried to defeat poverty by ourselves. I’ll come back to Korea one year later, then. No one run away from your seats.”

Jeffrey Sacks (53) is a professor at Columbia University in the U.S. He is an “overcoming poverty” missionary and one of three U.S. economic superstars along with Paul Krugman, a professor of Princeton University, and former Harvard University President Lawrence Summers. He visited Korea on March 7.

He came to Korea to attend the ODA International Conference on "Searching for effective measures to achieve MDGs (Millennium Development Goals)” held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on that day.

He was an economic advisor to Bolivia, suppressing the dangerous inflation there, and has been giving advice on economic policies to developing countries that suffered from economic difficulties since the 1980s. By doing this, he started to closely analyze poverty issues in the world.

Professor Sachs, who has regularly visited Korea starting 25 years ago, showed his insight and affection about Korea’s economy in the event. Korea’s miraculous development is a hope for all countries in poverty, he said.

In a keynote speech, he said, “When Korea was poor, world-famous scholars predicted that Korea’s economy had no hope. But they turned out to be wrong. Korea’s case is exemplary, and the Saemaeul (New Community) Movement suggests many things.”

He emphasized, “Aid to developing countries would be helpful to Korea’s economy and its national interests. Such a win-win situation is the beauty of economics.”

Sachs added regarding the MDGs, the meeting’s agenda, that “Korea is making important contributions to it.”

The MDGs include eight goals such as overcoming poverty by the year 2015 and decreasing infant mortality rate, and was adopted unanimously by the U.N. in 2000.

He asked for people’s attention to the poverty issue in a press conference after the event by saying, “Poverty is not just a certain country’s problem, but the world’s because it involves global peace and safety.”

Meanwhile, he predicted regarding a Korea-U.S. FTA that, “The US congress is raising issues, so currently it is not easy to make the U.S. government and congress agree with each other. But, the FTA would be beneficial to both countries.”

Sachs worked as a special advisor to former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan until recently. His latest book “the End of Poverty” is a bestseller worldwide.

jarrett@donga.com