Opportunity to Apply for Membership on the U.S.-Korea Committee on Business Cooperation

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

Opportunity to Apply for Membership on the U.S.-Korea Committee

on Business Cooperation

AGENCY: International Trade Administration, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Opportunity to Apply for Membership on the U.S.-Korea

Committee on Business Cooperation.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce is currently seeking applications

for membership on the U.S. side of the U.S.-Korea Committee on Business

Cooperation (CBC). The purpose of the CBC is to facilitate stronger

commercial ties between U.S. and Korean private sector businesses. The

CBC is chaired by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and the Korean

Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy. Its activities are

coordinated by an equal number of private sector representatives from

the United States and Korea. The work of the CBC is currently focused

through eight sector-specific subgroups: (1) Government procurement,

(2) environmental technologies, (3) venture capital, (4) automobiles,

(5) filmed entertainment, (6) electronic commerce, (7) a business

opportunity network on the Internet, and (8) telecommunications.

Additional subgroups can be formed if members desire.

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Private sector representatives will be

members until the CBC goes out of existence on October 1, 1999. If the

CBC is extended by mutual consent of the U.S. Department of Commerce

and the Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, a new

recruitment process for CBC members will be initiated. Applications are

now being sought for private sector members to serve beginning

immediately. Private sector members will serve at the discretion of the

Secretary. They are expected to participate fully in defining and

implementing in CBC work programs. It is expected that private sector

individuals chosen for the CBC will attend at least 75% of CBC meetings

which will be held in the U.S. and Korea. The next full CBC meeting is

expected to be held in Korea in the fall of 1998.

Private sector members are fully responsible for travel, living and

personal expenses associated with their participation in the CBC. The

private sector members will serve in a representative capacity

presenting the views and interests of the particular business sector in

which they operate; private sector members are not special government

employees.

The goals of the CBC are as follows:

Identifying commercial opportunities, impediments, and

issues of concern to the respective business communities;

Improving the dissemination of appropriate commercial

information on both markets;

Adopting sectoral or project-oriented approaches to expand

business opportunities, addressing specific problems, and making

recommendations to decision-makers where appropriate;

Promoting trade/business development and promotion

programs to assist the respective business communities in accessing

each market, including trade missions, exhibits, seminars, and other

events;

Facilitating appropriate technical cooperation; and

Considering other steps that may be taken to foster growth

and enhance commercial relations.

Selection: This notice is seeking applications for private sector

members.

Eligibility criteria. Applicants must be:

A U.S. citizen residing in the United States; and

Not a registered foreign agent under the Foreign Agents

Registration Act of 1938 (FARA).

In reviewing eligible applicants, the Commerce Department will

consider:

Expertise in one of the business sectors noted above in

which the CBC will be active;

Readiness to initiate and be responsible for activities in

one or more of the business sectors in which the CBC will be active;

and

Prospective member contributes to membership diversity of

company size, type, location, demographics and/or traditional under-

representation in business.

To be considered for membership, please provide the following: name

and title of the individual requesting consideration; name and address

of the company or organization sponsoring each individual; company's

product or service line; size of the company; export experience and

major markets; a brief statement of why each candidate should be

considered for membership on the CBC; the particular segment of the

business community each candidate would represent; a personal resume;

and a statement that the applicant is a U.S. citizen and not a

registered foreign agent under FARA.

DEADLINE: In order to receive full consideration, requests must be

received no later than: June 1, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Please send your requests for consideration to Susan M.

Blackman, Director, Office of Korea and Southeast Asia, U.S. Department

of Commerce, Room 3203, 14th St. and Constitution Ave., NW, Washington,

DC 20230, fax (202) 482-4760.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Susan M. Blackman, Director, Office of Korea and Southeast Asia, U.S.

Department of Commerce, Room 3203, 14th St. and Constitution Ave., NW,

Washington, DC 20230, telephone (202) 482-1695, fax (202) 482-4760.

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1512.

Dated: April 9, 1998.

Peter B. Hale,

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia and the Pacific.

[FR Doc. 98-9908 Filed 4-14-98; 8:45 am]

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