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By Kim Jae-kyoung
Korea has been in the limelight in the global community over the past year, after it was named as the first non-G7 country to host the G20 summit. President Lee Myung-bak and many policymakers are trying to promote the event, citing it as the country’s best-ever opportunity to join the league of advanced economies.
Some critics say that Korea should not be too excited as it is one of many international events and that it was only able to become the host country as a result of a global feud between the United States and Europe.
However, the heads of two global financial giants dismissed such criticism, sharing the view that South Korea deserves the chair of the G20 summit as it has successfully transformed itself into a developed country from a developing one. On the occasion of the G20 Seoul Summit, The Korea Times had an interview with Standard Chartered CEO Peter Sands and Citi CEO Vikram Pandit.
“South Korea has all the right qualities and past experience to make it an excellent chair country for the G20 summit. Financial organizations, including the International Monetary Fund, have complimented the resilience of the South Korean economy against various economic crises,” Pandit told the newspaper. “South Korea’s low state debt, and high fiscal reserves can quickly be mobilized to address any expected financial emergencies. South Korea was one of the few developed countries that avoided a recession during the global financial crisis.”
Sands stressed that Korea’s hosting of the G20 summit is a good indicator that the gravity of global power is shifting from the West to the East.
“I don’t think one should underestimate the significance of Korea hosting the G20 Summit; not only is it the first non-G7 nation to host the G20 summit, but it is the first Asian country to be the host,” he said.
“In this way actually it’s a powerful demonstration of the broadening of economic leadership in the world and the shift in the balance of power from West to East. Korea has performed well through the crisis, it’s recovering strongly and Korea has also shown leadership in many areas such as in green growth,” he added. “Being the chair of the G20 Summit will undoubtedly put greater focus on Korea, on what the country has achieved and on its priorities and agenda.”
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