For Immediate Release: September 11, 2008
DBEDT Release News 08-25

HONOLULU--The Hawai‘i Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) in joint sponsorship with the states of Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, is presenting a unique opportunity to explore renewable energy, education and communications business opportunities in Korea.

The Sixth Annual Korea-Pacific U.S. States Joint Conference will take place in Seoul and Jeju-do on November 14-15, 2008.

The first day of the conference will be held in Seoul, which will include a special networking event. On November 15, the conference will move to Jeju where the three industry tracks will be the focus of presentations and one-on-one business meetings:

1. Renewable Energy-Hawai‘i will take the lead on this session presenting its Hawai‘i Clean Energy initiative and promoting the 2009 Korea-Pacific U.S. States Joint Conference which will be held in Hawai‘i.
2. Information & Communication Technologies-The agenda includes U.S. and Korean panels discussing trends in telecommunications, communications hardware, mobile applications, and wireless enabling technologies.
3. Education-More than 30 Korean colleges and universities will be sending representatives to meet with counterparts in the Pacific U.S. to discuss ways to increase educational exchanges and training programs.

"Korean companies entering the U.S. market need to have U.S. partners, just as U.S. companies need Korean partners to enter Asian markets," said DBEDT Director Theodore E. Liu. "This is especially true for renewable energy technologies and services, education and information technologies. Attending the 6th Annual Korea-Pacific U.S. States Joint Trade Conference can help Hawai‘i companies make connections and learn more about the global marketplace."

The Korea-Pacific U.S. States Joint Conference is sponsored by the Korea-U.S. Economic Council (KUSEC) and the six Pacific states (Alaska, California, Hawai‘i, Idaho, Oregon and Washington). KUSEC is a private, non-profit organization under the auspices of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), whose purpose is to promote economic cooperation between Korea and the United States. KUSEC is supported by leading Korean corporations and economic organizations, and exercises significant influence in both private and public sectors.

Registration deadline is September 30, 2008. There is no conference participation fee. Companies requesting business matchmaking sessions must register by September 30, 2008.

For further information, visit http://www.kusec.or.kr/kusec/eng/pacific.html or contact Jamie Lum at (808) 587-2753 or e-mail jlum@dbedt.hawaii.gov.

For more information, contact:
Dave Young, DBEDT Communications
Phone: (808) 587-1212
Email: dyoung@dbedt.hawaii.gov