G-20 Summit Key Agenda

MOSF Minister Yoon and BOK Gov. Kim promise to cooperate on Korea’s role as chair for the global summit and financial issues

Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance (MOSF) said he and new Bank of Korea Gov. Kim Choong-soo agreed to cooperate as much as they can where necessary for the sake of the national economy.
During their first get-together on April 5 since the new governor of the central bank took office on April 1, the MOSF minister said he and Gov. Kim discussed a wide range of economic and financial issues at the meeting to open a new age of mutual cooperation between the government and the central bank, especially on Korea’s role as chair nation for the G-20 Summit in Seoul in November.
Gov. Kim, 62, said the roles of the MOSF and the central bank are different, but they both want to cooperate for the further development of the national economy.
The new governor, who was the Korean envoy to the OECD in Brussels at the time of his appointment, said he did not have any particular issues for discussion with Minister Yoon at this time, but they agreed firmly to cooperate with each other on the G-20 Summit agenda. A key reason for Kim’s appointment as head of the central bank has been his credentials in both economic and financial areas.
Officials on both sides said no key issues such as interest rates, exit policies or the revision of the Bank of Korea Law were taken up at the meeting, true to the nature of the meeting as a matter of a courtesy call.
The two top financial officials touched on such matters as what the role for Korea should be as the chair nation of the upcoming G-20 Summit in Seoul on Nov. 11-12, including key agenda for the global meeting and macro-economic issues. In particular, they discussed various economic indicators showing the Korean economy has been on an excellent growth pace, despite the fact that the global economy is not yet out of the woods completely. Both top officials agreed that key factors in the economy have been performing well including exports, productivity and domestic consumption, among others.
The central bank announced its GDP growth projection for the first half was 4.6 percent in real terms, but various indicators showed that the first quarter growth rate may exceed that with the second half being 5.9 percent. The two officials also agreed that the economic growth projections for this year could be boosted a little with various micro indicators including industrial activity showing improvement in the first quarter.
Gov. Kim has to lead the meetings of vice financial ministers and central bank governors to prepare for the G-20 Summit. The president appointed him because he valued his wide-ranging experiences in the areas of international finance and economy, the spokesman said.
Regarding the independence of the central bank from the government, he said the central bank is not independent from the government as the president has the right to name the governor of the central bank, during an interview with Korean reporters in Paris. He doesn’t see any problems if the governor sticks to his responsibility and what he believes within legal limits. He said the Monetary Commission has the right to set interest rates as guaranteed by law.
Kim studied economics at Seoul National University and earned a doctorate in economics at the Wharton School of Business at Pennsylvania University in Philadelphia, the United States. He served as senior secretary for economic policy at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in 2008. He worked as president of Hallym University in Gangwon Province for a year from 2007. He also was head of the Korea Institute of Public Finance from 1997-1998.
“A firm supporter of free trade and the market economy, Kim has been involved in government economic policy-making for a long time. We believe his experience and extensive economic knowledge will be useful for the creation of future monetary policies,” a spokesman said.
A veteran economist, Kim headed the state-run Korea Development Institute during the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration and acted as an economic advisor to the late former president to help him form major macro-economic programs. nw

Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun, left, shakes hands with Gov. Kim Choong-soo of the Bank of Korea in their first meeting to discuss various economic and financial issues on April 5 facing Korea. Gov. Kim took office April 1.