Dear BKBF Members and Friends

It's been a long time since you have heard from us. There are no excuses or apologies needed. All our members and friends will understand that "bigger issues" had to take priority. It's a dilemma really. In times of crisis people should get together to share experiences, pain and sorrow. Talking about problems is a mental relief and from time to time real solutions come from talking. But the current financial crisis is so much a collapse of confidence and trust that even small gatherings of people can create a snowball of bad news. Silence is golden, but it is not the solution. To simply mention that your company is going through difficult times can shake and rattle confidence in its share price. First of all, we have a duty to protect the reputation of our companies and avoid that wrong news spreads out. But how can you fix problems if no-one knows what is going on? A similar dilemma is faced by Governments. In the case of BKBF we are particularly interested in how the Korean Government handles the crisis.

Though there was a slow start and a long period of denial, at the end the Korean government made great efforts to make available objective information about the financial standing of the country. In the financial world (to which I belong…) this was very much welcomed. I hope I can share some of that information on one of our next events. Some kind of stability has returned to the market in Korea. Outsiders will mostly see the currency and the stock market as indicators of "how things are going". Both are very important but there is so much more.

Korea is not by nature or by conviction a country which handles problems well. A culture of open debate is not well developed. "Boss, this is a stupid idea", is not a sentence we often hear in our companies. So a lot of "bad" news does not travel at all, and a stupid idea gets implemented because a senior alumnus, military buddy or parochial elder thinks it is a good idea. This results in what I think is one of the key issues Korea needs to address to try and handle a crisis situation better: its institutions are not institutionalized. The outcome of legal, regulatory or governmental disputes is determined by individuals based primarily on who's asking and who's responding, and how they relate socially, as junior or senior. This is very different from the perception that most foreigners have about how corporate function, almost like armies! South Korea would need to fundamentally apply cultural change management to its military service before society can change and before its institutions become fully trusted. But this will of course not happen as long as North Korea is what it is!

Handling a crisis is hard work. It requires debate, expertise and consistency. Korea has a lot of expertise but it lacks debate and it lacks consistency. As a result it is more vulnerable to outside perceptions. Foreign countries, foreign investors, our head offices, our foreign colleagues… nobody knows very well what to think of Korea. In investment management we call it the "Korea discount". In Korean newspapers it is called "foreigners sell Korean equities". Foreigners read about the Presbyterian belief of key members of the Government (and find out President and Finance Minister belong to the same church) and shake their head in disbelief. It doesn't help. In corporate psychology, this is called "subtle behavior that corrupts corporate culture".

Many of our members and friends have been in Korea for some time. In my case, a total of almost 7 years, including 2 years in 1993. All of us have a professional duty to try and translate the messages and information we have about Korea. It is our job to look beyond the inconsistency, to emphasize the track record and the expertise we find in so many places and people, and to contribute to a balanced view about Korea. For our head offices, Korea is usually only a marginal problem. Don’t let it escalate.

As far as BKBF is concerned, one of our most urgent challenges is the comparatively small Belgian community. Next, we have insufficient integration with the Korean leg of our organization. We need cooperation from all of you to make us work better together. I am delighted that our new ambassador HE Pierre Dubuisson is taking active steps to try and improve how we do things together. We hope to invite you to an event with the new ambassador as keynote speaker very soon.

I hope to hear from all of you.

Erik Versavel

Chairman BKBF

We welcome the new Belgian ambassador to Korea H.E. Pierre Clément Dubuisson, born in Boussu, Belgium on 10th March 1949. Ambassador Dubuisson is a translator graduate (English/German) and entered the ForeignService on 15th October 1987. His successive functions include Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Brussels+ Mission in Hanover for Expo 2000); Attaché at the UN Permanent Representation (Geneva, Switzerland); Secretary and then First Secretary at the Council of Europe (Strasbourg, France); Ambassador in Kiev, Ukraine (2000-2003); Ambassador in Tallinn, Estonia (2004- 2008).

The invitation with further details will follow by se parate email.

MADE IN KOREA OCTOBER 8TH 2008-FEBRUARY 28TH 2009

Korea has often been called “The Land of Morning Calm”. The rest of the day, after all, is marked by an incredible intensity! An effusion of colors, a spiritual effervescence, and, above all, a successful combination of the purest tradition with extreme modernity, the fervor of a people with individual enthusiasm, shamanistic ritual with Confucian thought and Christian religion - a harmony celebrated under the abiding, Majestic smile of the Buddha. A dazzling panorama of today’s Korea, yours to explore to the full, right here in BOZAR- the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels.|

If you want to keep on enjoying the benefits BKBF is offering and haven’t paid the membership fee, please fill out the document below. Or just send an email to info@BKBF.or.kr.

BKBF BOARD MEMBERS

Board of Directors:

Erik Versavel. ING Bank (Chairman)

Andre Nothomb, Solvay (Vice-Chairman and Treasurer)

Johan Vandromme, Kim&Chang

Johan Depraetere, Samsung Electronics

Filiep Messiaen, Samsung Electronics

Ex officio Members:

Deputy Head of Mission: Sophie De Smedt

Economic and Commercial Representative of Flanders Investment & Trade: Marc Devriendt

Economic and Commercial Attaché of Walloon and Brussels Regions: Aicha Benmaalla

Honorary Member:

Belgian Ambassador: Victor Wei

Executive Office

Ciska Peere

Jurgen Germeys

OFFICIALS’ CORNER

For general information, please consult the websites of the Belgian Embassy in Korea Website|