KAZAKHSTAN: SOUTH KOREAN AMBASSADOR ON ECONOMIC,

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASTANA 002163 SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EAP/K, EUR/RS, DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/04/2018 TAGS: PREL ECON KDEM RS KS KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: SOUTH KOREAN AMBASSADOR ON ECONOMIC, DEMOCRACY, AND OTHER ISSUES Classified By: Ambassador Richard E. Hoagland: 1.4 (B),(D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The South Korean Ambassador in Astana said Seoul -- is considering an economic summit for South Asia as a way to raise its profile in the region; -- would be willing to play a greater "quiet diplomacy" role in promoting democracy; -- considered creating a South and Central Asia Bureau in its Foreign Ministry but decided it is still too early to do so; and -- is pulling its hair out trying to get its new embassy built in Astana. END SUMMARY. SOUTH KOREA TO HOST CENTRAL ASIAN ECONOMIC SUMMIT? ¶2. (C) During a courtesy call on October 30, South Korean Ambassador Kim Il-Soo said his government wants to pay more political attention to Central Asia, especially because of "China creep," and is considering organizing an exonomic summit for Central Asia, but isn't sure what it really has to offer at this time. Should the project more forward, he speculated it might focus on specific issues like commercial nuclear energy and agriculture. Kim commented that Japan's pig push on Central Asia a year or two ago seems to have lost steam, and he personally doubts South Korea could do more than hold a one-off symbolic meeting at this time. He said he has argued in his foreign ministry against such a summit unless Seoul is prepared to sustain follow-through. SOUTH KOREA CAN HELP PROMOTE DEMOCRACY ¶3. (SBU) Although South Korea's interests in Kazakhstan are primarily commercial, Kim said Seoul would be willing to play a greater role in promoting democracy. He noted South Korea's special perspective as an Asian democracy that only 20 years ago made the transition from authoritarian capitalism to free-market democracy. He said he thought this perspective could be especially helpful in quiet diplomacy in Kazakhstan and asked to be included in the informal group of Western like-minded embassies in Astana. The Ambassador readily concurred. SEOUL SEES CENTRAL ASIA STILL CLOSE TO RUSSIA ¶4. (C) Ambassador Kim asked if the State Department's moving the Central Asian states away from the Europe and Eurasia Bureau into the new South and Central Asia Bureau has been successful. He commented, "That was a visionary decision." Because Seoul follows the United States closely as a model, he said his government had considered following this lead, but after heated debate had concluded it was too early to do so, primarily because of Moscow's strong influence in the region. SOUTH KOREA'S NEW EMBASSY COMPOUND: STILL A FIELD OF DREAMS ¶5. (C) Kim lamented the difficulty of getting South Korea's new embassy built in Astana. He said there was a stand-off for two years because the Kazakhstani government, insisting on reciprocity, demanded a grant of land in Seoul to build a new embassy. Currently, South Korea has an agreement for land in Astana, diagonally across from the U.S. compound, but the Kazakhstani parliament must ratify the agreement -- and the government in Astana has told Kim that might take another six months. The South Korean property development company, Highvill (sic),would build the new chancery, but gearing up would take extra time since Highvill has sent most of its ex-pat staff back to South Korean because of the credit crunch for private-sector construction. Kim quipped he would be lucky to see the foundations poured during his tenure. HOAGLAND