Lee to attend Group of 20 summit: Cheong Wa Dae By Yoo Cheong-mo

SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak accepted U.S. President George W. Bush's invitation to attend a summit of the Group of 20 major economies scheduled to open in Washington D.C. in the middle of November for discussions on managing the global financial crisis, Lee's office said Thursday.

"The South Korean government sincerely welcomes the opening of the Group of 20
summit. President Lee received an invitation from President Bush during their
telephone talks on Tuesday and will actively participate in the summit talks,"
said presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan.
"President Lee has repeatedly stressed his opposition to protectionist trade
policies in overcoming the financial crisis. At the Group of 20 summit, Lee will
call for an overhaul of worldwide financial systems and their regulatory regimes,
as well as a greater role for developing countries in overcoming the global
crisis," said the spokesman.
The White House announced Wednesday that leaders of the Group of 20 nations,
including South Korea and Group of Seven countries, will get together in
Washington Nov. 15 to address the world financial market turmoil and discuss
concerted measures to stave off a long and deep economic downturn.
During their telephone talks on Tuesday evening (Korean time), Lee and Bush
called for closer international policy coordination in order for the world to
swiftly recover from the financial crisis and slump in the real economic sector,
according to officials at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.
They also shared the view that the globe should not move back to protectionist
trade policies, and the principles of the free market economy should not be
hindered in the process of overcoming the crisis.
On various recent occasions, President Lee has stressed the need to create new
international organizations to better cope with the financial crisis and other
daunting global issues, such as climate change and a potential energy crisis.