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Shwe Government Stakeholders:
South
Korea
Although
Burma is roughly seven times the size of South Korea, the latter
has a slightly larger population (48 million as opposed to
Burma’s 45 million). Moreover, the country’s GDP is about
seven times larger than Burma’s. South Korea is among the East
Asian Tigers, the region’s strong economies. Its main
industries are shipbuilding,
car manufacture, machinery, electronics, chemicals, and
textiles. Its major trading partners are the USA, Japan, and
China. [1]
While
oil makes up just over half of all energy requirements, gas
currently contributes about 9%. To meet projected increases in
gas consumption, this figure is expected to rise in the future,
as South Korea continues with gas infrastructure development
projects. [2] Since
South
Korea does not produce commercially viable amounts of natural
gas on or off its own shores, its consumption of app. 20.92
billion cubic meters (2001 estimate) has to be met by gas
imports. South
Korea has relied on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet
demand since 1986. [2,
3]
South
Korea is important to world energy markets as the fifth largest
oil importer, and the second largest importer of LNG (behind
Japan), importing some 12.5 metric tons of LNG in 1999, up from
2.1 metric tons in 1988.
[2,
3,
4]
According
to UK Trade and Investment, it is estimated that demand for
natural gas in South Korea will rise to between 28.6 and 30
million tons by the year 2010. [2]
All
of South Korea’s gas is imported by the state-owned monopoly
LNG importer the Korean
Gas Corporation (KOGAS), the world’s single largest
importer of natural gas. KOGAS imports LNG from Indonesia,
Malaysia and, to a lesser extent, from Brunei, Australia and
Qatar (South Korea is currently also negotiating to import LNG
from Russia). In March 2001, South Korea's natural gas supply
was disrupted due to continuing anti-government violence in
Indonesia. Supplies had to be secured from other sources. Spot
cargoes were purchased from Indonesia as a temporary measure.
Subsequently, in May 2001, KOGAS singed a deal with other
suppliers to replace LNG from Indonesia’s conflict-stricken
Aceh province. [2,
3]
The
government’s decision to purchase gas imports from Burma in
the future does not appear to take into account recent
experiences of investing in politically unstable countries. An
investment in the Shwe
project could lead to yet another potential disruption of
gas supplies, as the political situation in Burma is very
unstable and the general populace certainly is not supportive of
the military regime in Rangoon. Moreover, with continued
investment, the South Korean government (through KOGAS)
and South Korean corporations (such as Daewoo
International) further entrench the brutal military regime
and prolong the suffering of the Burmese people.
In
September 2004, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Louise Arbour, praised South Korea for its human rights record,
saying that South Korea was a "flagship for the protection
and promotion of human rights". [5] While this may be true
to most South Koreans, it certainly is not true to most Burmese,
whose lives and livelihoods are at risk thanks also to the South
Korean government’s and South Korean corporations’ continued
investments in the Burma.
Take Action!
- Send a
(pre-formatted) letter
to the Korean
government, to express your concern about human rights
and South Korea's engagement with the Burmese military
regime.
Read more about:
Visit our Take Action
section for more information on how you can make a difference in
the ongoing SHWE Gas
Movement!
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Sources:
[1]
http://www.lonelyplanet.com
[2]
http://www.tradepartners.gov.uk/oilandgas/south_korea/profile/overview.shtml
[3]
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/kx.html
[4]
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/skorea.html
[5]
http://www.iht.com/articles/538946.html
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