Lee Calls for Global Financial Safety Net

Nov. 13, 2009 --

Staff Reporter

President Lee Myung-bak on Friday touted the need for putting a global financial safety net in place as one of the core elements for the reform of international financial institutions.

In a keynote speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit held on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Singapore, Lee reassured that reform of global financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund should be discussed at the G20 summit next year as one of the agenda points.

Lee arrived in Singapore earlier in the day to attend the two-day APEC Summit, which will open Saturday with 21 heads of state, including U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

Approximately 500 business leaders in the Asia-Pacific region participated in the CEO summit.

Asian countries have recovered faster than other regions from the global financial recession caused by the financial crisis last year.

Lee said Asian economies' relatively fast recovery reflected the lessons learned from the Asian financial (NYSE:DYP) crisis that hit the region 10 years ago. During that turmoil, the emerging economies overcame the hardship by securing as much foreign reserves as possible through trade surpluses.

"Unless world leaders convince these economies to believe that they will still be fine even when not seeking the self-insurance strategy, it will be hardly likely to achieve balanced growth," he said.

The President called on leaders to seek ways to strengthen the global financial safety net by reforming global financial institutions, saying this is a necessary step to take.

Lee pledged that as the host nation of the G20 Summit in November next year, South Korea will play a role in coming up with global efforts to help narrow the development divide between advanced and developing economies.

On the sidelines of the APEC Summit, Lee also held talks with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

President Lee is also scheduled to meet with Australian Prime Minister Kevin M. Rudd today for talks. He will return home Sunday.