Choi Sang-mok Attends APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting... Officially Assumes Chairmanship for Next Year

Proposals for Restoring Economic Dynamism and Other Tasks
Bilateral Meeting with Peru and Hong Kong Finance Ministers
Korean Economy IR for Wall Street Investors in New York

Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Economy and Finance, is speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers' Meeting held in Lima, Peru, on the afternoon of the 21st (local time). (Photo by Ministry of Economy and Finance)

Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Strategy and Finance, attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers' Meeting to discuss the regional economic situation and sustainable finance. APEC is the largest regional economic cooperation organization aiming for economic growth and shared prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region, with 21 member countries including Korea, the United States, and China.

At the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting held in Lima, Peru on the 20th and 21st (local time), Deputy Prime Minister Choi officially assumed the chairmanship for next year and introduced the direction and priorities of the meeting discussions. He presented key discussion topics such as restoring economic dynamism aimed at sustainable growth and shared prosperity in the region, pursuing prudent and well-designed fiscal policies, and enhancing the stability of digital finance. Furthermore, he emphasized that APEC must strengthen its function of discovering and expanding policy ideas to actively play a role in solving global challenges.

Taking this meeting as an opportunity, Deputy Prime Minister Choi met with finance ministers of major countries to exchange views on economic cooperation measures. On the 20th, he held a meeting with Jos? Arista, Peru’s Minister of Finance, promising close cooperation as the outgoing and incoming chair countries of APEC, and exchanged opinions on supporting overseas orders for Korean companies in construction and defense sectors, as well as strengthening cooperation in the Knowledge Sharing Program (KSP) for sharing economic development experiences.

During the meeting with Paul Chan, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary, on the 21st, they discussed global economic trends and bilateral economic issues, particularly exchanging views on the progress of the newly introduced Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES) this year, aimed at attracting foreign investment to Hong Kong.

Deputy Prime Minister Choi also held a meeting with local companies operating in Peru to hear their difficulties. The meeting was attended by eight local companies including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Dohwa Engineering, POSCO International, Korea Zinc, Korea Aerospace Industries, and SK Innovation, as well as two public institutions (KOICA, KOTRA). At this meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Choi listened to the challenges and suggestions of local companies and promised to actively cooperate with the Peruvian government to create a business-friendly environment for Korean companies.

On the 22nd, he will travel to New York, USA, to hold a Korean Economic Briefing (IR) for global investors. This briefing, the first since his inauguration, will inform institutional investors about the sound fundamentals of the Korean economy based on a sound fiscal stance, as well as the government’s policy directions such as a dynamic economy and the advancement of capital and foreign exchange markets.

From the 23rd to 24th, he will attend the 4th Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting of the Group of Twenty (G20) for 2024. This meeting will be held in Washington D.C., USA, in conjunction with the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), and is the last finance ministers’ meeting hosted by Brazil, the chair country this year. The meeting is expected to include discussions on the reform of multilateral development banks (MDBs) and global economic cooperation measures across two sessions, reviewing this year’s achievements and future tasks.

In Session 1, Deputy Prime Minister Choi, as co-chair of the International Financial Architecture Working Group, plans to emphasize the significance of the MDB reform roadmap through a keynote speech and request its smooth implementation. In Session 2, he will propose fundamental solutions such as restoring growth potential through structural reforms and fiscal innovation to enhance global crisis response capabilities.

On the final day, the 25th, Deputy Prime Minister Choi will attend the WB Development Committee meeting to discuss a future-ready World Bank Group (WBG). He plans to hold his fourth meeting this year with the WB President, following meetings in January, April, and July, to discuss cooperation issues between Korea and the WB.

On the same day, he will meet with Marie Diron, Global Head of Sovereign Ratings at Moody’s, to explain key economic policy directions, and with Isabel Delhom, Head of Strategy and Product Development at Euroclear and the group’s top official responsible for the sovereign bond omnibus account, to discuss final checks in preparation for the actual inflow of funds following Korea’s inclusion in the WGBI in the second half of next year.