Seoul Ready for G20 Summit

Seoul Metropolitan Government out to prepare to show what it has to offer to whole world

Twenty world leaders will come together in Seoul next month to discuss the state of the global economy and other pertinent issues, namely, the foreign exchange rates as it emerges from the financial crisis. Together, they will take the necessary steps to reduce market volatility and agree on joint guidelines for setting foreign exchange rates and move past the crisis, creating sustainable growth going forward.
Mayor Oh Se-hoon of Seoul City signed a civilian-level partnership cooperative agreement with 20 organizations including the Federation of Korean Industries and the Seoul Education Office on Sept. 16 in a bid to cooperate each other to make the G20 Summit in Seoul in Nov. 11-12 a great success.
Seoul City will also declare to bar private sedans on the streets of Seoul from 2 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 12 to reduce traffics in the city on that day.
The government agencies and schools will also consider starting hours on that day as part of the government security measures against possible terrorist attacks on the key global meeting. The government will also designate special security zones in Seoul to bar any meetings in those areas and if needed policy and army will be mobilized to prevent gatherings to hold demonstrations in those zones.
Considering that heads of state will arrive in Seoul in their own special planes, the government will strengthen security measures both in land and air and use helicopters to guard their safety. A special attention will be paid on possible actions by North Korea through both military and non-military moves to disrupt the international meeting and international terrorists and violent demonstrations during the meeting.
The fall meeting will be the fifth leaders summit and the first in an emerging country, reflecting shifts in the global economic balance and a growing understanding of the interdependence of countries and regions in the international financial system.
In addition to heads of government from the twenty member countries, central bankers and finance ministers, the heads of key international institutions, including the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Financial Stability Board, will participate in the meetings, November 11-12. Member countries include the G8 developed economies along with emerging economies such as the Republic of Korea. Together, the members of the G20 represent over 85% of the world economy.
Summits held to date - in Washington D.C., Pittsburgh, and London - the G20 averted economic catastrophe. In Pittsburgh, the G20 leaders agreed that, going forward, the G20 would be the premier forum for international economic cooperation, ushering in a new system of global economic governance. In Seoul this November, the leaders will take that mandate forward, paving the way for future sustainable and balanced growth.
Within the larger agenda, the leaders will continue to work to build a lasting system of cooperation - a framework - and to reform international financial organizations and financial regulations. At the Seoul Summit, the G20 will build on past agreements, while introducing new agenda items that support the same fundamental goals. Specifically, Korea will support discussion of a system of global financial safety nets and plans to reduce global poverty and the development gap. nw

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon gives a speech at a recent meeting of the capital city’s G20 Summit Preparation Committee.