Korean traders appeal to GMA to lift EO 156

The South Korean Chamber of Commerce appealed yesterday to President Arroyo to lift Executive Order 156, which bans the importation of second-hand vehicles.

Ill Kyoung Park, chairman of he Korean Chamber of Commerce, told reporters during the weekly Balitaan sa Rembrandt Hotel Forum yesterday that the presidential directive signed last Dec. 12 will displace some 35,000 Filipino workers and lead to the loss of some $400 million worth of Korean investments in the country.

"If the order goes we will all go home to Korea and recover our losses through the help of the government, but what will happen to the 35,000 workers here?" he asked.

The ban, he stressed, will only add to the rising unemployment in the Philippines.

Park said that second-hand Korean vehicles brought into the country are required to pass strict quality control in Korea before shipment to the Philippines. They are also covered with warranty and have passed the smoke emission test in the country.

Kyong Young Park, president of the Korean Used Vehicles Association and Mina Lee, president of the Korean Vehicles Workers Association (KVWA), said they were caught flatfooted when the EO was approved last December without prior consultations with the affected sectors.

Park said South Korean businessmen were only responding to the invitation of the Philippine government to invest in the country in 1996 and the importation of second-hand vehicles was among their major investments here.

The Korean business leaders claimed that although the order also covers American and Japanese cars, they are the ones directly affected because Japan’s right-hand drive vehicles are not allowed in the country and the US does not really send second-hand vehicles to the Philippines.

"We are asking President Arroyo to recall EO 156 immediately to avert the mass displacement of Filipino workers," Young Park said.

They stressed that Korean second-hand vehicles also contribute to the livelihood of returning overseas Filipino workers, as they usually use the vehicles for commuter service in their localities.

Young Park said if Mrs. Arroyo will not consider their appeal they will be forced to elevate the case to the World Trade Organization (WTO) for proper action as the directive violates the principle of free trade.

He expressed optimism, however, that Mrs. Arroyo will consider their appeal, which he said, would spare them from lengthy deliberations at the WTO.

Park stressed that Koreans have been contributing to the country’s positive economic growth as tourists, local and foreign labor employers and through rental and leases of lots, building and residences and other expenditures that contribute to national growth.