K-pop stars attract visitors to AIIB annual conference
Korean girl group AOA
By Nam Hyun-woo
Korean singer Lyn
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) conference is expected to attract around 1,500 participants next week on Jeju for the organization’s second successful meeting.
But the number of participants is likely to further increase thanks to K-pop stars, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Monday. Popular girl group AOA and singer Lyn will perform at the three-day event that starts on June 16 on the scenic resort island.
“After performances of K-pop stars were announced, inquiries have jumped for the AIIB meeting from such countries as China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore,” a finance ministry official said.
“Thus far, we’ve had about 18,000 applications for the conference. As requests are continuing to come in, we have extended the application deadline by a week to June 9. We are sure the total number will top 20,000.”
AOA will appear at a June 16 dinner event, which the Korean finance ministry will host. The seven-member group is one of the hottest idol groups not only in Korea but also in Asia.
Lyn will sing at a June 17 evening party, which Jeju Gov. Won Hee-ryong will host. Participants will be able to enjoy her hit songs such as “My Destiny,” a song from the soundtrack of Jun Ji-hyun’s drama, “My Love from the Star.”
Other dignitaries
Expectations are also high that Korean President Moon Jae-in will attend the annual meeting, making his diplomatic debut.
His presence is expected to help ease the tension between Seoul and Beijing because China has spearheaded the establishment and operation of the infrastructure bank that began operations in early 2016.
Initially, Korea hoped that Chinese President Xi Jinping would also take part in the gatherings so the two leaders could have a summit to deal with the soured Sino-Korean relationship. But Xi is unlikely to attend.
The deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system here, which Seoul adopted due to Pyongyang’s missile threats, has been a bone of contention. But Beijing opposes he missile shield, claiming that its radar can also monitor its airborne traffic.
The AIIB is an international financial institution aimed at addressing the infrastructure needs of Asia's developing and underdeveloped countries. China proposed the multilateral development bank in 2013 to support the construction of infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region.
Of its 52 regional and non-regional members, China contributed $29.78 billion, or 32.38 percent of the total, to the bank. China has the largest voting bloc of 27.8 percent. On top of Asian countries, many European states have also joined the AIIB.
Korea at AIIB
Korea's share in the bank stands at $3.74 billion, or 4.06 percent with a voting bloc of 3.75 percent, the fifth-largest.
Originally, Korea’s Hong Ky-ttack was AIIB vice president and chief risk officer. But he lost the job midway through last year.
He failed to properly supervise Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering as chief of the state-run Korea Development Bank.
The shipbuilder has been blamed for cooking the books to understate huge losses it incurred over the past few years and even claimed to have made profits. The total value of the fraud is estimated at more than 5 trillion won between 2012 and 2014.
Hong was at the helm of the policy lender for three years before joining the AIIB in February 2016.
“We put forth efforts to influence the AIIB to appoint a Korean as its vice president. The AIIB meeting on Jeju will also underpin the initiative,” said a government official who asked not to be named.
Jin Liqun is president of the organization, which also has five vice presidents.
The first AIIB meeting took place in China last year and India will host the third one next year.