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Korea Telecommunications Market Access Agreement (4/96)

EXCHANGE OF LETTERS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 1992 TELECOMMUNICATIONS AGREEMENT

April , 1996

The Honorable Michael Kantor

United States Trade Representative

Executive Office of the President

600 17th Street, N.W.

Washington. D.C. 20506

Dear Ambassador Kantor:

I refer to the recent bilateral telecommunications consultations between the Governments of the Republic of Korea and the United States regarding issues involving the 1992 Understanding on Telecommunications.

I am pleased to inform you that, in response to the U.S. Government's request, the Korean Government is willing to hold a meeting with the U.S. side to begin to discuss telecommunications market access issues of mutual concern at any time in the second half of April 1996, with the objective of effectively addressing these issues as early as possible.

Sincerely,

Ambassador Kun Woo Park

April , 1996

Ambassador Kun Woo Park

Embassy of the Republic of Korea

2450 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20008

Dear Ambassador Park:

I refer to the recent bilateral telecommunications consultations between the Governments of the Republic of Korea and the United States regarding telecommunications issues. I welcome the Korean Government's reaffirmation of its commitment to comply with the 1990 and 1992 Understanding on Telecommunications (the "ROUs").

I also welcome the fact that, in addition to the commitments in the ROUs, the Korean Government will ensure that, in accordance with Korea's commitments under the agreements of the World Trade Organization (the "WTO"), U.S. firms are accorded non-discriminatory access to the Korean telecommunications market.

I welcome the following statements from the Korean Government:

"I. Korea Telecom's Procurement

"A. The Korean Government confirms that:

"(1) the Korean Government will not require or encourage Korea Telecom to offer preferential treatment to domestically-produced telecommunications network equipment or commodity products in its procurement process;

"(2) the Korean Government will continue to ensure that Korea Telecom extends equal treatment to domestic and U.S. suppliers in Korea Telecom's procurement process, including the future procurement of equipment involving advanced technologies, such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode technology. The Korean Government will further ensure that Korea Telecom does not purposely delay its procurement in order to disadvantage U.S. suppliers; and

"(3) the Korean Government will not require or encourage Korea Telecom to obtain a transfer of technology as a condition for awarding a procurement contract for telecommunications network equipment or commodity products through transfer either directly to Korea Telecom or to Korea Telecom's domestic suppliers.

"B. The Korean Government further confirms that Korea Telecom's procurement regulations will:

"(1) provide adequate protection for the proprietary information disclosed by its suppliers, which either constitutes a trade secret or is otherwise subject to an intellectual property right; and

"(2) require suppliers not to infringe on a patent, trademark or any other type of intellectual property right held by a third party in Korea, in fulfilling their contracts with Korea Telecom.

"C. Any violation by a supplier of Korea Telecom of a third party's trade secrets or intellectual property rights is actionable under the relevant public law in Korea, including the Unfair Competition Prevention Act.

"D. The Korean Government will ensure that, with respect to the equipment covered by Article XVII of the 1992 ROU, Korea Telecom:

"(1) consistent with Article VI of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, does not prepare, adopt or apply technical specifications with a view to, or with the effect of, creating unnecessary obstacles to international trade; and

"(2) consistent with Article VI of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, prescribes technical specifications, where appropriate, (i) in terms of performance rather than design or descriptive characteristics; and (ii) based on international standards, where such exist, otherwise on national technical regulations or recognized national standards.

"E. The Korean Government will further ensure that Korea Telecom will not require suppliers to submit proprietary technical information (including specifications and/or schematic diagrams) of the telecommunications network equipment and commodity products to be purchased, except to the extent that such information is necessary for Korea Telecom's determination of the supplier's qualification and/or its operation and maintenance of the equipment and products.

"II. Approval of Telecommunications Equipment

"A. The Korean Government notes that a violation of the type approval regulations by a Korean Government official is punishable under the relevant public law in Korea, including the Korean National Civil Servant Act. The type approval regulations provide for, among other things, protection of the confidential information submitted by type approval applicants.

"B. The Korean Government will carefully monitor its type approval process to ensure compliance with the relevant provisions of the 1992 ROU, particularly the provisions regarding documentation requirements for type approval applications. In this connection, the Korean Government will issue a directive to call to the attention of its type approval officials the importance of Korea's compliance with the provisions of 1992 ROU.

"C. The Korean Government would like to call the attention of the U.S. Government to the provisions of Paragraph XVI.G. of the 1992 ROU regarding mutual recognition of equipment approval. In this regard, the Korean Government confirms its continuing interest in resuming discussions with the U.S. Government concerning this subject as promptly as possible. It is the Korean Government's belief that a mutual recognition arrangement will serve to significantly enhance each side's access to the other's equipment market."

I appreciate the willingness of the Korean Government to engage in further discussions with the U.S. Government concerning issues arising under the implementation of the ROUs.

Sincerely,

Ambassador Michael Kantor

April , 1996

The Honorable Michael Kantor

United States Trade Representative

Executive Office of the President

600 17th Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20506

Dear Ambassador Kantor:

I refer to the recent bilateral consultations between the Governments of the Republic of Korea and the United States regarding telecommunications issues. Pursuant to these consultations. the Korean Government is pleased to reaffirm its commitment to comply with the 1990 and 1992 Understandings on Telecommunications (the "ROUs").

In addition to the commitments in the ROUs, the Korean Government will ensure that, in accordance with Korea's commitments under the agreements of the World Trade Organization (the "WTO"), U.S. firms are accorded non-discriminatory access to the Korean telecommunications market.

I. Korea Telecom's Procurement

A. The Korean Government confirms that:

(1) the Korean Government will not require or encourage Korea Telecom to offer preferential treatment to domestically-produced telecommunications network equipment or commodity products in its procurement process;

(2) the Korean Government will continue to ensure that Korea Telecom extends equal treatment to domestic and U.S. suppliers in Korea Telecom's procurement process, including the future procurement of equipment involving advanced technologies, such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode technology. The Korean Government will further ensure that Korea Telecom does not purposely delay its procurement in order to disadvantage U.S. suppliers; and

(3) the Korean Government will not require or encourage Korea Telecom to obtain a transfer of technology as a condition for awarding a procurement contract for telecommunications network equipment or commodity products through transfer either directly to Korea Telecom or to Korea Telecom's domestic suppliers.

B. The Korean Government further confirms that Korea Telecom's procurement regulations will:

(1) provide adequate protection for the proprietary information disclosed by its suppliers, which either constitutes a trade secret or is otherwise subject to an intellectual property right; and

(2) require suppliers not to infringe on a patent, trademark or any other type of intellectual property right held by a third party in Korea, in fulfilling their contracts with Korea Telecom.

C. Any violation by a supplier of Korea Telecom of a third party's trade secrets or intellectual property rights is actionable under the relevant public law in Korea, including the Unfair Competition Prevention Act.

D. The Korean Government will ensure that, with respect to the equipment covered by Article XVII of the 1992 ROU, Korea Telecom:

(1) consistent with Article VI of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, does not prepare, adopt or apply technical specifications with a view to, or with the effect of, creating unnecessary obstacles to international trade; and

(2) consistent with Article VI of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, prescribes technical specifications, where appropriate, (i) in terms of performance rather than design or descriptive characteristics; and (ii) based on international standards, where such exist, otherwise on national technical regulations or recognized national standards.

E. The Korean Government will further ensure that Korea Telecom will not require suppliers to submit proprietary technical information (including specifications and/or schematic diagrams) of the telecommunications network equipment and commodity products to be purchased, except to the extent that such information is necessary for Korea Telecom's determination of the supplier's qualification and/or its operation and maintenance of the equipment and products.

II. Approval of Telecommunications Equipment

A. The Korean Government notes that a violation of the type approval regulations by a Korean Government official is punishable under the relevant public law in Korea, including the Korean National Civil Servant Act. The type approval regulations provide for, among other things, protection of the confidential information submitted by type approval applicants.

B. The Korean Government will carefully monitor its type approval process to ensure compliance with the relevant provisions of the 1992 ROU, particularly the provisions regarding documentation requirements for type approval applications. In this connection, the Korean Government will issue a directive to call to the attention of its type approval officials the importance of Korea's compliance with the provisions of 1992 ROU.

C. The Korean Government would like to call the attention of the U.S. Government to the provisions of Paragraph XVI.G. of the 1992 ROU regarding mutual recognition of equipment approval. In this regard, the Korean Government confirms its continuing interest in resuming discussions with the U.S. Government concerning this subject as promptly as possible. It is the Korean Government's belief that a mutual recognition arrangement will serve to significantly enhance each side's access to the other's equipment market.

I would like to inform you that the Korean Government will continue to be amenable to engaging in discussions with the U.S. Government concerning issues arising under the implementation of the ROUs.

I hope that the foregoing clarification is helpful in your understanding of Korean telecommunications policy.

Sincerely,

Ambassador Kun Woo Park

Ambassador Kun Woo Park

Embassy of the Republic of Korea

Washington, D.C.

Dear Ambassador Park:

I refer to the recent bilateral telecommunications consultations between the Governments of the Republic of Korea and the United States regarding issues involving the 1992 Understanding on Telecommunications.

I welcome the fact that, in response to our request, the Korean Government is willing to hold a meeting with the U.S. side to begin to discuss telecommunications market access issues of mutual concern at any time in the second half of April 1996, with the objective of effectively addressing these issues as early as possible.

Sincerely,

Michael Kantor


TANC offers these agreements electronically as a public service for general reference. Every effort has been made to ensure that the text presented is complete and accurate. However, copies needed for legal purposes should be obtained from official archives maintained by the appropriate agency.