with

Tami Overby
President & CEO
American Chamber of Commerce in Korea

Thursday, March 27, 2008
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM ♦ Registration and Reception
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM ♦ Luncheon and Presentation

The Korea Society
950 Third Avenue, Eighth Floor, New York City
(Building entrance on SW corner of Third Avenue and 57th Street)

$20 for members, $25 for nonmembers
Buy tickets
For more information or to register for the program, contact Patrick Clair at (212) 759-7525, ext. 328 or email

The next few months will be critical to securing the most commercially significant free-trade agreement for the U.S. in more than 15 years, says Tami Overby, president & CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM Korea). Following the election of a new president in South Korea, and the emergence of free trade as a hot-button issue in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, the tone of the debate over the pending KORUS FTA is undergoing a significant shift. New ROK President Lee Myung-bak has expressed his strong interest in the FTA, which is currently pending ratification in Korea's National Assembly. But as President Lee prepares to make his first visit to the United States, prospects for ratification in the U.S. Congress are far from certain, because of South Korea's closure of its market to U.S. beef and growing concern in the U.S. about the fairness of such trade agreements. Tami Overby will discuss the specific opportunities and benefits the KORUS FTA offers to U.S. investors, manufacturers and exporters interested in Asian markets. She will also offer an update on the ratification debate in both countries.

About the Presenter

Tami Overby arrived in Korea in 1988 and has been actively involved in AMCHAM ever since. As president and CEO of AMCHAM Korea, Overby is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the Chamber.

Overby has actively participated in 17 of AMCHAM’s Washington Doorknock trips and in June 1996 testified before the U.S. Congressional Immigration Sub-Committee in support of Korea’s entry into the Visa Waiver Program. Overby has been a driving force behind AMCHAM’s support for improving the efficiency of the U.S. government’s visa process. In April 2006, she was also appointed as a co-chairman of the U.S.-Korea Visa Waiver Program Coalition. She has also testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee in March 2007 in support of the KORUS FTA.

Overby is an active member of both the Seoul Children’s Welfare Committee and the Invest Korea Advisory Council. She is the AMCHAM representative to the Association of the United States Army and is on General Bell’s Senior Korea Advisory Council. She is also on the board of directors for AMCHAM’s non-profit foundation, Partners for the Future, which provides aid and assistance to Korea’s unemployed.

In recognition of her efforts to promote better economic relations between the Republic of Korea and the United States, Overby has been awarded Letters of Citation (Bronze Tower) by presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun.