Mantega’s hit-and-run
Brazil was the only country at the G20 Gyeongju meeting to have neither of its finance minister and central bank governor.
The absence of the two raised a suspicion that they were trying to avoid condemnation from other countries for sparking the “currency war” debate - it was its finance minister Guido Mantega who coined the rhetoric in September, which then fast developed into a global fiasco.
The official excuse was that they had to monitor Brazil’s financial market after an announcement of a capital tax increase last week, which was not very convincing considering that the main sessions were held on Saturday.
The mystery was solved on Saturday.
“It’s the election,” a source told The Korea Times. Brazil will have a presidential election on October 31.
A separate source confirmed this later on Saturday.
Minister at micromanagement
South Korea, the host nation, has been cautious in not taking side in the discussion as it tried its best to play the role of a peace broker in the G20.
One weapon it uses to usher other nations is hospitality. In Gyeongju, Yoon made the most of the historic city in his charm offensive, inviting guests to Friday’s dinner by Anapji, an ancient palatial complex.
Arriving at the site ahead of the guests, Yoon was reportedly angry that the lightings by the entrance were too dim.
“He looked very uncomfortable. He ordered officials around him to find out who was responsible for the decoration. He even said that he would investigate whether the budget for the decoration was rightly used,” a witness said.
Korean reporters upset at unfair treatment
A number of Korean reporters protested to the G20 Preparation Committee and to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance of South Korea on Friday that they were unfairly being blocked from approaching to Hilton Hotel, where the G20 delegation was meeting.
The press was supposed to remain in the nearby Hyundai Hotel for the duration of the meeting. But some foreign journalists were witnessed to be staying inside the Hilton since Friday, while the police kept blocking access of Korean reporters.
A photographer of Yonhap news agency, an official press partner of the event, was even lifted out by two guards in black suits when he tried to take a photo of the inside of Hilton.
The G20 committee explained in a press release, to Koreans, that some countries included the press as part of their delegation, sharing the entrance passes with their reporters.
The committee said it is a “customary” practice, hinting that more countries will be able to use this trick to sneak in their journalists at the upcoming Seoul Summit.
A local treat
North Gyeongsang Province and Gyeongju City provided Friday’s dinner for journalists at the backyard of Hyundai Hotel. The dinner was accompanied with traditional musical performances. Blankets were distributed.
Diners enjoyed the steak dinner, while some Westerners seemed uncomfortable with the Ginseng sorbet, made with the herb grown in nearby Punggi town.
“Frankly, I don’t like this,” said a journalist from Italy’s La Repubblica, confirming that the herb is not as appealing to the European taste as it does to East Asians.
Korea has been famous in East Asia for its ginsengs for over a thousand years and is very proud of it. Recently, North Korea tried to pay its national debt with a large amount of Ginseng to Czech Republic, which they duly rejected.
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