G-20 finance ministers’ meeting starts today

3-day event in Busan to draw 1,000 guests including big names

By Yoon Ja-young

Staff reporter

The G-20 finance meeting kicks off a three-day run in Busan today, with the attendance of over 1,000 guests, including finance ministers, central bank governors and economists from around the world.

According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Wednesday, around 260 to 270 officials from the Group of 20 leading economies and international organizations are attending the gathering ― each G-20 member can register up to 10 people in its official delegation.

Among finance ministers in attendance are Timothy Geithner of the United States; George Osborne of the United Kingdom; Naoto Kan of Japan; Xie Xuren of China; Wolfgang Schauble of Germany; Christine Lagarde of France; Wayne Swan of Australia; James Flaherty of Canada; and Korea's Yoon Jeung-hyun.

Central bankers coming to Busan include Mervyn King from the Bank of England; European Central Bank Governor Jean-Claude Trichet; and Bank of Korea Governor Kim Choong-soo. Kevin Warsh, a member of the board of governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve, is a last-minute substitution for Chairman Ben Bernake

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, World Bank President Robert Zoellick and OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria are also among the distinguished crowd.

The delegates will be staying at the Busan Westin Chosun Hotel, the key venue of the meeting.

On top of the delegations, there are around 520 media representatives covering the meeting that will deal with major global economic issues.

According to the finance ministry, 517 people have registered to cover the event ― 229 foreign reporters and 288 local ones. Many foreign media groups have dispatched reporters for the event, despite having Seoul correspondents.

The finance ministry explained that the meeting agenda will include finding solutions for the ongoing fiscal troubles in southern Europe.