Lee heads home after tackling eurozone crisis at G-20 summit

CANNES, France (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak headed home from France on Friday after discussions with other leaders of the Group of 20 major economies about how to tackle the eurozone debt crisis and fend off its effects on the global economy.

Lee's visit to the southern French city of Cannes for this year's G-20 summit was part of a two-nation trip that also took him to Russia's second-largest city of Saint Petersburg earlier this week for summit talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Lee attended the two-day G-20 summit as head of one of the "troika" countries, which refers to the previous, current and next hosts of the global economic forum. South Korea hosted a G-20 summit in November last year.

The summit came amid jitters over the possible spillover of the eurozone debt crisis to the world economy.

Lee called for G-20 leaders to come up with specific action-backed plans to restore the fiscal health of their governments while strongly urging debt-stricken nations, such as Greece, to carry out thorough restructuring measures to bring the crisis under control.

"Crisis-hit nations need to carry out thorough restructuring and self-rescue efforts," Lee said during a working lunch with other leaders of the G-20 economies, emphasizing that South Korea overcame the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s through "bone-carving" restructuring.

In a meeting with global business leaders on the eve of the G-20 summit, Lee called for companies to expand investment and increase hiring to spur the world economy, emphasizing that the fiscal crisis made it difficult for the world to expect government-led stimulus measures that had played a key role in overcoming the 2008 financial turmoil.

"In a situation where there is little room for additional government spending due to the global fiscal crisis, companies are expected to play greater roles. The most important player in reviving and revitalizing the economy is corporations," Lee said in a speech at the meeting known as "B20 summit."

Lee also expressed South Korea's support for a proposal to beef up the resources of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) so that the lending agency could help better defuse future crises and prevent them from spreading.

With regard to trade, Lee cautioned against protectionism, urging countries to recommit to the "standstill" principle that they agreed to at last year's summit with a pledge not to take any additional protectionist policies.

Lee said keeping trade free is more important at a time of crisis than at any other time.

Lee also called for greater attention to assisting needy nations, saying South Korea will work actively to study ways to secure funds for development projects. Lee asked Mexico, the next host of the G-20 summit, to play a role to that end.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates presented a report to the summit, calling for rich nations to do more to help less well-off countries grow together. In particular, Gates praised South Korea as a "standout" in the development initiative for its pledge to triple its official development assistance by 2015.

On the sidelines, Lee also held summit talks with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel. He also met bilaterally with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev greet each other during a meeting in Saint Petersburg on Nov. 3. (Yonhap)

Lee's trip to Russia and talks with Medvedev focused largely on North Korea, including international efforts to end Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions and an ambitious project to build a massive gas pipeline to ship Siberian gas to South Korea via the communist North.

The project, which has been discussed for about 20 years, has never materialized due in part to security tensions. It gained momentum, however, after the North's leader, Kim Jong-il, in summit talks with Medvedev in August, expressed his willingness to permit the envisioned pipeline to go through.

The project has drawn media attention as it could help reduce tensions between the two Koreas.

In the meeting with Medvedev, Lee said he is concerned about the potential safety risks associated with the pipeline's passage through the provocative North in the wake of the regime's two deadly attacks on the South last year. Lee called for Russia's cooperation to resolve the nuclear standoff and other North Korea issues.

In response, Medvedev said Russia is prepared to take all the risks arising from the pipeline's passage through the North. Pyongyang has shown much interest in the gas pipeline project, Medvedev added.

The two leaders also agreed that if the North Korea risks are addressed, they could consider another project to provide surplus electricity from Russia's Far East to South Korea via the North.

They also agreed to cooperate closely to lay the groundwork for resumption of six-party talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, saying a comprehensive and fundamental resolution of the issue is key to peace and stability in the region.