By Kang Seung-woo



The largest-ever business delegation, including Park Yong-maan, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will accompany President Park Geun-hye to China, Cheong Wa Dae said Monday.



President Park will embark on a three-day trip to Beijing, Wednesday, which will include a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping later that day and her attendance at China's celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II the following day.



"The business delegation will be comprised of 156 businesspeople and representatives of economic organizations and the number is the largest business delegation of its kind," said Ahn Jong-beom, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, at a briefing.



This compares with the previous record of 125 representatives of public and private firms, who joined her trip to four South American countries in April.



Ahn also stressed that the number of participating small- and medium-sized enterprises is also the highest, accounting for 82.2 percent.



The delegation will attend a business forum, scheduled for Friday in Shanghai, and the companies will also pursue their own marketing campaigns in China, Korea's No. 1 trading partner.



Also, Park's office said that Park and Xi will discuss issues concerning the Korean Peninsula and regional security as well as relations between Seoul and Beijing during their sixth summit.



"Given that the summit will take place on the sidelines of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, the two heads of state are expected to discuss ways to bring peace and stability to the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia," said Ju Chul-ki, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and national security.



Following the bilateral meeting, Park will also meet with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang to talk about mutual interests, including the ratification of a free trade agreement (FTA).



The Korea-China FTA was signed in June and the bill for ratification is pending at the National Assembly.



According to the outcome of a government study on the economic impact of the FTA, the deal is expected to help boost the country's gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.96 percent over 10 years following its implementation.



On Thursday, Park will attend the war anniversary events, including a massive military parade that will feature about 12,000 Chinese troops and soldiers from more than 10 nations, including Russia, as well as 200 aircraft.



"Her attendance is meant to boost friendly and cooperative relations with China, whose annual trade volume with Korea is getting closer to $300 billion," Ju said.



"In addition, we expect China to play an active role in the peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula."



Park will also attend a ceremony in Shanghai Friday to reopen a historic building that was used by Korea's provisional government during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.



