AKBC e-Newsletter June
Dear AKBC Members,
Firstly, it is with profound sadness I acknowledge the passing of our esteemed Chairman, Hon. Simon Crean. He leaves behind a legacy of remarkable achievements and contributions to Australia and to the Australia-Korea business community and will be deeply missed by all at the AKBC. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a state funeral will be held to honour him; further details will be provided in the coming days.
In light of this unfortunate circumstance, AKBC recognise the importance of maintaining stability and continuity within the organisation. With the board's consent, we are pleased to announce that Mr John Walker AM, our Deputy Chairman, has been appointed as the interim chair. Mr. Walker's extensive experience with business and government in Korea, and 6 years’ experience as past Chair of the AKBC makes him a suitable candidate to lead the Australia-Korea Business Council until a new Chair can be elected.
Under Simon’s leadership in the 2022/23 financial year, we're proud to report that AKBC delivered 30 events, meetings, training sessions to over 900 attendees across Australia and Korea. In June, AKBC hosted Chair Na Kyung-won for two business roundtables on Critical Minerals / Supply chain, and Energy in Perth during her visit to Australia. Chair Na is a former four-term National Assembly member and the first female floor leader with the ROK’s governing People Power Party. Most recently she led Korea’s delegation to the World Economic Forum in Davos (May 2022) where she explained the ROK's key foreign policy objectives and discussed the international community's humanitarian aid for North Korea.
In other AKBC news, we are pleased to have completed migration of our membership operations to the GlueUp platform. This transition will assist AKBC in the way we interact, communicate, and collaborate with our members as a community and make it easier for members to update membership information, hear about relevant news and register for our events. We have commenced membership application and renewals on this platform and thank you to those who have renewed your membership for the next 2023/24 financial year. Our next phase will involve transitioning our subscribers over to the new platform. Current subscribers will be receiving an email asking you to subscribe to our newsletters. Please “opt-in” to our new platform and accept our new terms of usage to continue receiving news, event updates and other relevant invitations from us.
In upcoming events for July, we are excited to announce our collaboration with Mazars focusing around Food and Agriculture which will be hosted in Brisbane on the 21st July. This event will bring together industry professionals and experts to share insights, exchange ideas, and explore opportunities for growth and sustainability. The Food and Agriculture subcommittee will also be meeting to progress our plans for the year. We will also be holding our next Korean Business Fundamentals Cultural Training session on the 27th of July, with the August session held in-person in Melbourne on Tuesday 15 August.
I am delighted to announce that plans for our highly anticipated 44th KABC-AKBC Joint Meeting is taking place at the prestigious JW Marriott Seoul Hotel venue with focused plenary sessions on Research and Industry cooperation, Critical Minerals, Defence and Aerospace, Innovation in Traditional Industries, and Energy – Green Transition. This Joint Meeting promises to be an exceptional opportunity for members to come together, exchange knowledge, and forge invaluable connections. If you are a member that has yet to sign up your interest in attending, speaking or sponsoring, we welcome you to do so here. With an engaging program featuring influential speakers and interactive sessions, we are confident that the 44th Joint Meeting will encourage dialogue on tackling some challenges businesses are currently faced with; at the same time highlighting opportunities in the bilateral relationship. Members, please register your attendance here and we will be providing periodic updates on the Joint Meeting, including speakers and program agenda.
Finally, thank you for your unwavering support and active involvement in the AKBC. Stay well and I look forward to bringing more exciting events to stay engaged in the year ahead.
Sincerely,
Louise Clunies-Ross
Executive Director
Please click here to read our full newsletter.