Greetings to visitors of our site and all prospective members,

On behalf of our members, I wish to thank you for visiting our web site and for your interest in the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Korea (CCCK).

As the new leader of the CCCK, I wish to capitalize on the work of my predecessors and create new opportunities for growth and development at the Chamber. Having been established in 1995, the Chamber is still relatively young. However, today we have a dynamic group of members representing Canadian companies in Korea as well as Korean companies with close links to Canada.

For 2008, I believe that we should focus our resources and pursue four key objectives.

First, there is a wide consensus that raising membership and retaining existing members should be the key priority for 2008. This can be achieved by enhancing the quality of our events. The CCCK will also seek to reach out to Canadian professionals working in Korea and Koreans that have studied at Canadian universities.

Second, increasing the profile of the CCCK is also key, either with other industry associations, with government agencies or with the local business community at large. A series of events will continue to contribute to this objective. One of our landmark events vis-a-vis this endeavor is our Annual Leadership Seminar, held in March.

Third, the CCCK should provide a rich and effective environment for networking among members and with other organizations through regular luncheons, events, and forums.

Finally, the CCCK should be an educational forum where our members can learn about the business environment in Korea and make better business decisions.

As an independent business organization, the CCCK is also aware of the unique role it can play with respect to corporate social responsibility. Each year, we organize several non-business and/or charity events to support valuable causes. For 17 years, the CCCK has organized the Terry Fox Run in Seoul. In 2007, over 3,500 runners took part in the event and over KRW 50 million was raised and donated to a cancer research center in Korea.

The CCCK is proud to be associated with AECL to provide the CCCK R.K. Keating Memorial Scholarship, which consists of an annual CAD $ 5,000 scholarship to assist with tuition, travel and living costs to one or more Korean student(s).

Each year we organize the Canada Day picnic which is attended by a large group of Canadian expatriates and Koreans. Live music performance, games and picnic food make it a fun day for the whole family.

Through our joint efforts, I wish the Chamber can remain a members-driven organization. In this perspective, its pledge should be to facilitate trade for, and between, its members, to provide a platform from which members can appropriately address policy-makers and to add real value to membership through activities and functions.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas and to working closely with you to improve and grow the CCCK in 2008.

Sincerely

Simon Bureau
Chairman