By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
South Korea is expected to become a member of the global premier club for the first time in history by hosting a meeting of heads of the world's top 20 economies next year.
Asia's fourth-largest economy has been on the sidelines for much of its history, but will soon emerge as a mainstream economy and play an increasingly prominent role on the global stage, according to Deputy Strategy and Finance Minister Shin Je-yoon.
Upon his return from the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, Shin said Sunday that Korea's international profile will significantly increase through hosting the summit in November 2010.
The nation will become the first Asian country to hold the meeting of the world's 20 major economies, which represent 85 percent of global output.
The 20-member club, comprised of the world's leading rich and developing countries, has met three times since the global financial crisis struck last September to coordinate a global plan to fight the worst recession since the Great Depression.
"The G20 gathering is nothing like ASEM and APEC, which are mostly ceremonial events. The hosting of such a high-profile meeting will certainly raise the country's voice and profile in the international community. We will play a mediating role between advanced and developing economies in the forum," the deputy minister said.
Shin said the G20 will soon replace the more elite G8, which has excluded China and other emerging economies from voicing their opinions on a range of global issues. "The G20 gathering has become an annual forum and adopted an institutional framework. The shift to G20 from G8 is inevitable."
He said the G20 summit and ministerial gatherings will deal with a range of global economic issues.
"We have decided to coordinate an 'exit strategy' for each member economy. We will also strengthen the role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to more effectively stabilize global financial and macroeconomic conditions. The World Bank will be given more power to coordinate the development agenda in the developing world," Shin said.
He also said 5 percent of the IMF quota will be taken away from advanced economies and be reallocated among developing ones, adding that G20 nations will provide poor countries with financial and other resources necessary for sustainable economic development, rather than simply handing out food and other basic necessities.
Shin said Korea initially wanted to host the summit next spring. "But to counter possible opposition from Japan and other G8 nations, we decided to hold the meeting in November after Canada, next year's G8 chair country, hosts the gathering in April. In 2011, the G8 chair France will host the G20 meeting."
He said former Strategy and Finance Minister Kang Man-soo, current minister Yoon-jeung-hyun and the head of the G20 Summit Korea Coordinating Committee Sakong Il worked hard to win the right to host the summit.
"Without their effort, Korea would not have become a chair country of the G20 next year, not to mention the hosting of the 2010 summit."
However, Shin said it will not be easy for Korea to successfully hold the summit, citing its lack of manpower, know-how, experience and global network.
"It will be very difficult for us to prepare for such a huge international event. I think government officials should work much harder and attract many non-Korean experts on international finance," the deputy minister stressed.