G-20 summit to raise S. Korea's international profile

SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's hosting of the G-20 summit next year
will raise the country's international profile, the nation's business lobby
groups said Wednesday.

"The hosting of the G20 summit in 2010 will increase South Korea's international
profile," the Federation of Korean Industries, the nation's biggest business
lobby, said in a statement.
The comments followed President Lee Myung-bak's televised news conference earlier
in the day on the country's hosting of the international forum, which groups
leaders from the world's 20 advanced and developing nations, in November next
year.
During the conference, Lee said talk of an exit strategy from stimulus measures
introduced to avert a second Great Depression among members of the G-20 is
premature. He also noted that next year's meeting would address global economic
imbalances.
Other business organizations, including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (KCCI) and the Korea International Trade Association, issued similar
statements.
Sohn Young-ki, head of the macroeconomic team at KCCI, said the hosting of the
G20 summit will "create a sense of pride among all Koreans at a time of economic
difficulty."
The latest G-20 gathering ended last week in the U.S. city of Pittsburgh, with
members after agreeing to hold two summits next year, with the first in Canada
and the second in South Korea.
(END)