Korea feels sense of historic responsibility for G20 summit'

President Lee Myung-bak said Monday Korea will work hard with the rest of the world with a sense of historic responsibility to find the most effective solutions to overcome global economic challenges at the upcoming G20 Seoul Summit.

He expressed optimism Monday about the results of discussions on the four main agenda items — the ongoing currency conflict, the establishment of a global financial safety net, reform of the International Monetary Fund and development assistance for poor nations.

“We are doing our best to help countries reach agreements on the conflicting issues and I expect there will be positive results,” Lee said in a biweekly radio address to the nation. 

Lee stressed Korea has undertaken a historic task of contributing to the world’s sustainable growth and development as chair of the upcoming G20 summit.

Lee plans to hold a press conference, to which both local and international media outlets will be invited, at Cheong Wa Dae Wednesday to share his vision for the G20 and to discuss the progress of working-level talks regarding the issues, the presidential office said.

He will also hold an interview with the Wall Street Journal Friday that is expected to focus on the G20 and North Korea, according to Lee’s aides.

“We have a very important mission to coordinate the agenda to decide the future of the world economy and hammer out a compromise,” Lee said in the radio address.

During the two-day summit, Lee plans to hold bilateral talks with almost all participating leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, according to presidential chief of staff Yim Tae-hee.

Lee said the top priority is to resolve a feud over exchange rates among advanced and emerging economies. Attention was heaped on the issue as the U.S. and other Western nations have accused China of deliberately weakening its currency to boost exports and deepen global trade imbalances.

Lee said he was “very happy that the green light has been turned on for the success of the Seoul summit” as the G-20 finance ministers and central bankers agreed to move toward more market-determined exchange rate systems and refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies in their meeting last month in Korea’s ancient city of Gyeongju.

Lee said the G-20 leaders will also have to settle the details of how to increase the role of emerging markets in the IMF. In the Gyeongju meeting, the participants agreed to reallocate at least 6 percent of the so-called quotas to underrepresented countries like China. They also agreed that Europe will give up two seats on the 24-member board of the IMF.

Another major topic is how to support the development of impoverished nations aside from just providing aid.

“In other words, the international community needs to help them catch fish, not simply donate fish,” he said.

Lee asked for broader public support for the government’s efforts to make the Seoul summit a success, saying it should devise a concrete framework for the implementation of existing deals and compromise on unresolved issues.