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LA mayor to visit Seoul this month to promote tourism, investment

November 11, 2014
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti discusses his Asia visit at a press conference Monday. (Park Sang-hyuk/The Korea Times)

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti discusses his Asia visit at a press conference Monday. (Park Sang-hyuk/The Korea Times)

By Park Ju-youn

South Korea will soon receive a group of visiting influentials from Los Angeles, led by Mayor Eric Garcetti on a mission to promote tourism and investment in the city.

The Asia visit, which has the mayor also visiting China and Japan, will begin Nov. 16, his office said.

Garcetti will arrive in Seoul on Nov. 23 and stay for three days, during which he will attend the opening ceremony for Korean American bank BBCN’s Seoul office and meet with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, National Pension Service CEO Choi Kwang and Hyundai President Hyun Jeong-eun.

Last year, South Korea and Los Angeles had an economic exchange of about $23.5 billion, Garcetti said at a press conference with Korean media Monday.

He said the group of visitors — including Deputy Mayor Doane Liu, Los Angeles City Planning Commissioners Robert Ahn and Caroline Choe, Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System Commissioner Jaime Lee, BBCN Bank President, Archeon International Group CEO Christopher Pak and CEO Kevin Kim and Garment Line President Michael Chang.

As trade volume rises and as times change, both countries need to find a way to develop together, especially as the largest Korean population in the U.S. calls Los Angeles home, Garcetti said.

The mayor will visit several cities in China from Nov. 16 to 22 before heading to Korea, followed by Tokyo on Nov. 26.

Correction: We incorrectly reported the figure for economic exchange between South Korea and Los Angeles last year as $538,000. It is $23.5 billion, according to Mayor Garcetti’s office.