President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday led a revived trade and investment promotion council of the kind that spearheaded Korea’s export-driven growth under her father, President Park Chung-hee, through the 1960s to 1980s.

Some 150 participants including Deputy Prime Minister Hyun Oh-seok, ministers and business leaders attended the meeting to discuss ways to promote investment and protect businesses from foreign exchange fluctuations and other obstacles.

The meeting was suspended in 2009 during the Lee Myung-bak administration. Sources explained the Park administration’s version was focused on activating investment including those from foreign investors rather than exports alone.

The conference aimed to be a fast-paced “troubleshooting” session, during which participants made comments and requests and received immediate responses from relevant government officials.

The backbone of the meeting’s characteristic traces back to 1965, when the senior Park upgraded an export promotion committee meeting hosted by a prime minister to instead be presided over by the president to support the country’s banner of prosperity through trade.

Until 1980, a total of 151 sessions were held. Park Chung-hee missed the meeting only five times.

The meeting continued through the 1980s but became an irregular gathering, until it was suspended altogether in 1986 after a trade surplus was achieved.

The conference resumed 12 years later in response to the foreign exchange crisis, presided over by then-President Kim Dae-jung, but ceased to be a priority during the following two administrations.

The Park administration explained that the meeting would become regular again, as it vows to resurrect the economy that faces a slew of risks and tasks, and also as a part of fostering a creative economy favorable to small and mid-sized businesses.

The first meeting focused on ways to resolve financial difficulties suffered by small and mid-sized companies, in part to support them by alleviating difficulties caused by foreign exchange fluctuations.

A high-ranking Cheong Wa Dae official said Park Geun-hye showed great enthusiasm throughout the meeting, offering to mediate between the company representatives and government officials in their exchanges.

By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldcorp.com)