President Lee Myung Bak proposed three areas where cooperation could be boosted: trade and investment, cultural exchange and tourism, and 'green growth' or development of clean energy.

'We have a vast potential for future growth,' he said.

He made the call at a gathering of about 700 business leaders and government officials on the eve of the Asean-South Korea Commemorative Summit.

The event marks 20 years of ties between South Korea and Asean. It is being held on the tourist island of Jeju.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong arrived here last night for the meet, accompanied by Foreign Minister George Yeo and Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang.

South Korea is hoping that the summit will raise its diplomatic profile and cement its economic ties with Asean, which represents a market of 570 million people.

The event also provides a platform from which President Lee can advance his New Asia Initiative, an effort he launched earlier this year to widen South Korea's diplomatic reach that stresses the deepening of ties with its Asian neighbours.

However, the summit is being overshadowed by the communist North's confrontation with world powers over its recent underground nuclear test and the series of short-range missiles it had launched off its eastern coast. Pyongyang has also threatened attacks on the South.

The summit is being held amid heavy security. A surface-to-air missile pointed north is parked outside the summit facilities at the International Convention Centre in Seogwipo. The southern Jeju city is possibly the farthest one from the North.

Some 5,000 police officers, including 200 commandos, and special vehicles equipped to analyse sarin gas and other chemicals have been deployed.

Still, President Lee made no reference to the North in his keynote address yesterday at the inaugural Asean-South Korea CEO Summit. He focused on the last 20 years of ties between Asean and South Korea, and how to move them forward.

He said South Korea's bilateral trade with Asean countries had soared over the past decade, rising from US$8.2 billion (S$11.9 billion) in 1989 to more than US$90 billion last year, and is expected to rise to US$150 billion by 2015.

'Now, we must make a new leap based on the relationship we built during that time,' he added.

He said a concerted effort between Asean and South Korea, particularly in the three areas he outlined, would also help both sides to overcome the challenges posed by the ongoing economic crisis.

For example, the investment agreement that Asean and South Korea are due to ink tomorrow will offer both sides tariff concessions and improved customs clearance.

Its signing will effectively complete more than four years of negotiations on the Asean-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Two agreements on goods and services were signed earlier, one in 2007 and the other in May this year.

President Lee said the FTA would usher in a new era of trade and investment cooperation, and urged business leaders to seize the opportunities offered.

He also called for increased cultural exchanges and tourism, noting that about 3.2 million South Koreans visit Asean yearly while about 800,000 Asean citizens travel to his country.

In the advancement of clean energy, he felt both Asean and South Korea could become global leaders in developing resources and setting higher standards.

-end of ST article