Former South Korean president Kim Young-sam said yesterday he looked forward to seeing enhanced cultural and commercial exchanges between Taiwan and South Korea.
Kim, who is currently on an eight-day visit at the invitation of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), made the remarks while meeting with Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長庭) at city hall.
Despite a cooling-off in Taiwan-South Korea relations following Seoul's switching of diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, which prompted Taipei to cut ties with Seoul in 1992, Kim said friendship between the two countries has gradually regained steam.
"I hope our two countries can continue to expand engagements and cooperation in various fields for mutual benefit," Kim said.
For his part, Hsieh said that throughout history, Taiwan and Korea have been bullied but they never bullied other countries. This similar background had contributed to the friendship between the two countries, Hsieh said.
He added that Kaohsiung had formed sister-city ties with South Korea's second-largest city, Busan, and maintained close exchanges with several other cities.
In the past, Hsieh said, Taiwanese people were not familiar with South Korea but thanks to the popularity of South Korean soap operas, Hsieh said, many Taiwanese people have become fascinated with the country.
Hsieh lauded Kim for his contributions to South Korea's democratic development, calling him South Korea's "Mr. Democracy."
Kim said South Korea had come a long way liberating its people from authoritarian rule and building up a liberal democracy.
"In the pursuit of democracy, I consistently fought against the armed forces with courage, self-confidence and perseverance," he added.
Noting that Taiwan's democratization process has been similar to that of South Korea, Hsieh said he had much to learn from Kim.
Later in the day, Kim toured Kaohsiung Harbor in the company of Deputy Mayor Yao Kao-chiao (姚高橋). Kim said he was impressed by the port facilities and by the harbor's outstanding geographic location and natural conditions that have helped make Kaohsiung into a busy deep-water port.
Kim arrived in Taipei on Monday on his fourth visit to the country.
In the past few days, he has met with Chen and other political heavyweights, as well as delivering a speech at National Chengchi University.
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