Neither the U.S. government nor the International Monetary Fund view South Korea as a currency manipulator, and the issue is unlikely to affect economic relations between the two countries, the Korea Society president said Monday.
  

Thomas Byrne, an economics expert who has been leading the Korea Society since August, made the remark during a meeting with South Korean correspondents in Washington, pointing out that the large current account surplus Korea is enjoying now is not because of increases in exports.
  

"It's due to the contraction in imports. So I don't think the Bank of Korea has a policy that is manipulating its exchange rate and I'd have to look at the wording of various statements, but certainly the IMF doesn't believe the Bank of Korea or the Korean government is a currency manipulator," Byrne said.
  

"And Korea wasn't cited by the Treasury report as being a currency manipulator. There is some concern because the current account surplus is so high. But I don't think this is a large impediment in the relationship (between the two countries," the former Moody's analyst said.
  

Byrne also said that one of his main focuses as president of the New York-based organization is to raise the profile of the economic, business and financial ties between the two countries.
  

"That's my natural comparative advantage and so that's what I'll be spending a lot of time doing," he said.
  

Also in attendance at Monday's meeting was former U.S. Ambassador to Korea Thomas Hubbard, who has been serving as chairman of the board of the Korea Society.
  

Hubbard said Korea-U.S. relations are now at a high point.
  

"I did not at that point even imagine that the president of the United States would refer very positively to the ROK in several State of the Union messages, that he would express his admiration for Korean education, etc., so often," Hubbard said, referring to his time as ambassador from 2001-2004.
  

Hubbard's term as ambassador partly overlaps that of late former President Roh Moo-hyun from 2003-2008. Many experts in the U.S. view the Roh presidency as one of the most difficult periods for the alliance between the two countries.
  

"So I do think this is a high point and looking ahead, it's a period of great change in Asia in particular, we're going to continue to have to work hard and nourishing our relationship and ensuring that we see eye-to-eye on important issues like North Korea," he said.
  

Speaking of Korea-Japan relations, Hubbard said he sees no signs in the U.S. of "Korea fatigue," a phenomenon that refers to criticism of Korea for repeatedly raising history issues stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
  

"There is definitely Korea fatigue in Japan, but I see no signs of Korea fatigue in the United States," he said.
 
 
"I think Americans are worried that there continue to be tensions and misunderstandings between Japan and Korea. We were very pleased that bilateral meeting happened and we're certainly hopeful that they will lead to some real change," referring to last month's first summit between South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (Yonhap)