Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said Monday that the U.S. presidential election will not cause any changes in the Korea-U.S. economic partnership.

Donohue made the remarks during his lecture on the Korea-U.S. business partnership in a joint general membership meeting co-hosted by American Chamber of Commerce in Korea and FTA Industry Alliance in central Seoul.

About 250 people, including 100 AMCHAM officials and members, 100 Korean KITA officials, and FTA Industry Alliance members, gathered for the membership meeting.

“We don’t need bigger government, we need bigger economy,” the U.S. chamber president said.

With both Korea and the United States holding presidential elections this year, there have been public concerns that the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement could be influenced in unexpected ways.

The U.S. chamber head chose Korea as the first stop of his trip to Asian countries to promote the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

“Korea is a great place to start this trip because it’s our seventh-largest trading partner, and our commercial relationship has never been better than it is today,” Donohue said.

His final destination is Japan, where he will promote the same fundamental principles of the TTP.

Having chaired the U.S. Chamber of Commerce since 1997, Donohue played a critical role in the effectuation of the Korea-U.S. FTA.

“Thanks to the treaty, 95 percent of bilateral trade will be duty-free in five years. It will boost exports by billions of dollars annually for both sides, it will support tens of thousands of new jobs in both countries, and place America one step closer to reaching our goals of doubling exports by 2014 over a five-year period.”

The U.S. chamber head pointed out that the organization and the U.S.-Korea Business Council are creating a post-Korea-U.S. committee to teach the business societies about the mechanics of the Korea- U.S. FTA and how they can get full advantage of it.

After attending the forum, the U.S. chamber chief paid a courtesy call on President Lee Myung-bak to discuss

the free trade agreement between the two countries.

Lee asked for Donohue’s continued efforts to move the pact further forward, a presidential official said.

The pact went into effect in March, nearly five years after it was first signed in 2007.

Donohue said he thanks the patience Korea showed in the course of concluding the agreement, and that he will try to help maximize the benefits of the FTA, according to the presidential official.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)