Seoul welcomes decision on GCF secretariat's location in Korea

President Lee Myung-bak and other government officials were upbeat Saturday about a decision to base a key U.N. fund on climate change in the country, expecting the decision to significantly benefit the country both economically and politically.

"Its economic impact can be viewed the same as a mega global corporation coming to our country," Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said.

The remark came shortly after the Green Climate Fund (GCF) decided South Korea's Songdo, a newly developed international town in the western city of Incheon, would be the home of its secretariat, at the end of a three-day meeting there.

The decision came after five rounds of voting where countries receiving the least number of votes were eliminated one at a time.

Established in 2010, the GCF seeks to raise US$100-billion in funds annually until 2020 to be spent on measures aimed at slowing down or reversing climate change.

The Korea Development Institute, a state-run think tank, earlier estimated the hosting of the secretariat of such a massive global fund would have a direct impact worth some $340 million on the country's economy annually.

"With the decision, our (Korean) companies will be at an advantageous position to acquire information about new international projects concerning climate change and to take part in such projects," the finance minister said.

Incheon Mayor Song Young-gil said the impact the GCF office will have on his city and the country will be unique and unprecedentedly massive.

"International athletic events such as the Asian Games are only one-time events, but the GCF secretariat is an organization that will continue to develop over the next 100 or even 200 years, and therefore its impact will be unlike anything we have ever seen," he told reporters.

The officials also noted the implications the decision has on South Korea's political and diplomatic status.

"By hosting the first formal headquarters of an international organization, we have once again heightened the country's status in the international community," Song said.

The finance minister said hosting the GCF office will enable the country to take global leadership in efforts to both fight climate change and move toward green growth.

The South Korean president apparently shared the heated excitement, making a previously unannounced and unscheduled visit to the venue of the GCF meeting in Songdo.

Lee said he will personally make calls to the heads of state of each GCF board nation to thank them for their support.

Detailed voting results were not announced as agreed earlier by GCF members, but South Korea was said to have competed fiercely with Germany.

"I will make a call to the German prime minister and personally ask for close cooperation," Lee said. (Yonhap)