HC Deb 16 July 1980 vol 988 cc1479-80
8. Mr. Viggers

asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on relations between Her Majesty's Government and the Republic of South Korea.

Sir Ian Gilmour

We have enjoyed close and friendly relations with the Republic of Korea for many years. During my recent visit I reaffirmed the importance we attach to those relations and to our trading links. I also emphasised our strong interest in maintaining stability in the region and expressed the concern of people in this country that democratic institutions should be strengthened.

Mr. Viggers

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the short-term stresses which have been apparent recently should not obscure the dramatic social, political and economic advances that have been made in South Korea in the last 30 years? Does he also agree that it would be a good idea to encourage a direct air link between London and Seoul as a way of encouraging mutual understanding and trade?

Sir I. Gilmour

I noticed that there had been remarkable economic progress in South Korea. I hope that that will be paralleled by political progress. The question of a direct air link is strictly one for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade. I hope that something will happen. Discussions have been held, and I hope that they will be resumed before long.

Mr. Rowlands

When the right hon. Gentleman spoke to the South Korean authorities, did he raise the issue of human, civil and democratic rights for the South Korean people? Did he make it clear that large-scale killings and brutality's against South Korean students are not representative of the concept of democracy as we see it?

Sir I. Gilmour

I made it clear in my original answer, when I said that I "expressed the concern of people in this country that democratic institutions should be strengthened". However, for once, the hon. Gentleman has shown less than his customary fairness. He may have seen on television that the students commandeered a bus and drove straight through a police cordon, killing policemen in the process. Therefore, the violence is not all on one side.