Business Leaders Hope APEC Will Help Overcome Global Trade Uncertainty

With the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit scheduled to be held in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, around October this year, voices from the business community have expressed hope that the event will serve as an opportunity to overcome the global uncertainty triggered by the recent US-led "tariff bomb."

This year's APEC Summit is expected to see the attendance of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and there is also a possibility that US President Donald Trump may participate. If the leaders of the US and China, who are at the center of the global tariff war, both attend, it is anticipated to be a "big event" in every sense.

Participants of the 2nd APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) meeting held from the 23rd to 25th in Toronto, Canada, are taking a commemorative photo. Ministry of Foreign Affairs

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 25, Yoon Sungmi, Chair of the APEC Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM), participated in the 2nd APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) meeting, which was held over three days from April 23 in Toronto, Canada. The meeting, chaired by ABAC Chair Cho Hyunsang, was attended by approximately 200 business leaders from the region. ABAC is an advisory body to the APEC leaders, established in 1995 to incorporate the views of private enterprises into APEC discussions. Each APEC member can appoint up to three businesspeople as council members. For Korea, Cho Hyunsang, Vice Chairman of HS Hyosung (Chair), Lee Gyooho, Vice Chairman of Kolon, and Lee Juwan, Chairman of Megazone Cloud, currently serve as members.

At this meeting, business leaders expressed concerns about the unprecedented uncertainty in the global trade order and its negative impact on the Asia-Pacific region's economy and business activities. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that there was also anticipation that this year’s APEC, chaired by Korea, would serve as a platform for communication and exchange to jointly overcome these challenges faced by businesses.

Chair Yoon stated, "Amid geopolitical conflicts and rapid changes in the global trade environment, Korea will do its utmost to achieve meaningful results at this year's APEC Summit," and urged regional business leaders to present constructive opinions. She also noted that this year’s APEC is working to prepare measures for cooperation among members in response to the "impact of AI technology advancement" and "changes in demographic structure" as core outcomes. She added, "We will continue to incorporate diverse voices from the private sector to produce results that are genuinely helpful to businesses."

ABAC members will hold a total of four regular meetings this year, following the 1st and 2nd meetings in Australia and Canada, and the upcoming 3rd and 4th meetings in Vietnam and Korea, respectively. Based on the discussions at these meetings, they plan to submit a statement containing proposals from Asia-Pacific business leaders to the leaders during the "ABAC-APEC Leaders' Dialogue" at the APEC Summit.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "We will continue to maintain close communication with business leaders in the region to ensure that the voices of the private sector are well reflected in the outcomes of this year's APEC Summit."