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Can Korea lead global discussions on charting a roadmap for sustainable global growth and addressing economic imbalances between developed and less advanced countries?
It was unthinkable even a few years ago that a Korean President would gain as much global attention as President Lee Myung-bak enjoys these days.
Since the country won the bid to host the G-20 Summit last year, it has successfully positioned itself as an arbitrator between the United States representing the old regime and China seeking a new world order.
President Lee has made it clear that he will mediate between the two superpowers to address their conflicting views and, for his part, increase Korea's stake in deciding on the future course of the global economy.
His goal is simple: clearing the fallout of the financial crisis to bring the world economy back on track based on the collective wisdom of the countries that are at odds over how to do so.
Lee said he will put the creation of a global financial safety net high on the agenda during the G-20 Seoul Summit in November, which on the flip side means a challenge to the established financial order being maintained by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
That could annoy the United States, the largest stakeholder of the global bodies and arguably the biggest stumbling block in reforming them into organizations fully trusted not only by developed nations but also by emerging economies.
Armed with vast currency reserves, China, the largest holder of U.S. debts, has called for reform of the dollar-based global economic structure to reflect the rising economic power of emerging nations and to prevent a crisis in a certain nation from rippling through the whole world.
For Korea, hosting the G-20 meeting is expected to serve as a turning point for the once major recipient of international aid to join the ranks of the world's major economies.
Policymakers here have called the hosting a diplomatic triumph as the summit will provide a venue to set the future course of action for the global economy.
It also gives a crucial opportunity to the world's 15th largest economy to reflect voices from developing nations in reforming the global financial sector and create a new economic landscape, officials said.
At the third G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh last September, Korea gained unanimous support from participating nations as the host of the fifth summit in November. Canada will host the fourth on June 26 and 27 in Toronto.
Korea is the first Asian country to host the forum of the world's 20 major economic powers, launched in September in 2008 to coordinate a global plan to fight the worst recession since the Great Depression. The G-20 nations account for about 85 percent of global output.
Gone are the days when the powerful and wealthy G-8 members could dictate their plans on the global economy to the lesser, non-G-8 bystanders, and the rest of the global community.
The rise of the G-20 should be seen not as a magnanimous offer by the Western economic cabal and Japan to cede power and influence to formerly, less-influential developing economies.
At the upcoming talks in Seoul, the country aims to play a leading role in mapping out post-crisis global economic programs and represent the interests of emerging economies to help the world achieve a more balanced growth.
President Lee has said Korea would continue to increase its donations to help promote economic development in poor countries and share its growth experience with them.
``As our global status rises, our global responsibility also grows. We should contribute more to the world as a country standing at its center," Lee said.
In the following months, the administration will focus on developing the agenda for this year's summits in close cooperation with Canada, global organizations and economists.
It plans to boost its image as an IT powerhouse and promote its ``low carbon, green growth" vision at the Seoul summit.
The COEX center in southern Seoul, where the summit will be held, will also feature various carbon-free products to raise awareness on global warming, according to organizers.
The government will also offer state-of-the-art technologies for participants so that they can experience the essence of the country's IT, mobile and Internet industries.
The summit will be the largest international forum ever to be held here, drawing more than 10,000 participants, including the leaders of more than 25 countries and major international organizations.
On the sidelines, Korea will also hold meetings for economic ministers, business leaders and working-level officials at various locations nationwide to ensure effective policy coordination among countries.
At previous G-20 summits, President Lee proposed countries focus on preventing protectionism, expanding foreign currency supply to emerging nations and stimulating economies through more government spending and lower taxes.
Explaining his economic policies, he said Korean banks should lend more to businesses at low interest rates; corporate management and labor unions should cooperate and lawmakers should adopt measures to boost the economy.
The Seoul summit, however, will focus on global exit strategy and post-crisis growth measures.
Amid signs of recovery, the world's industrial powers have agreed that the upcoming summits will be even more significant as a majority of countries start devising coherent exit strategies.
``The Pittsburgh summit didn't hammer out hard details of a global exit plan because it was premature to adopt it. Some economies are at risk of falling back into a slump,'' said Kwak Soo-jong, an economist at the Samsung Economic Research Institute.
``But the next summit is when we're going to be seeing global leaders aggressively coordinate their exit plans. And it's meaningful that Korea is going to be at the center of such an influential gathering.''
source:Korea Times
