(3rd LD) Seoul selected as venue of next year's G20 summit

(ATTN: UPDATES headline, lead, REPLACES quotes with presidential office spokesman's
in paras 5, 6)
SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has picked Seoul as the venue of next
year's Group of 20 (G20) summit and will officially announce the decision next
week, government officials said Friday.
Leaders of the G20 countries agreed at their September summit in Pittsburgh to
meet again next year in Canada in June and in South Korea in November.
The South Korean summit will be the fifth after the first in Washington in
November 2008 and the second in London in April 2009.
Following the Pittsburgh summit, several South Korean cities, including Seoul,
Busan, Incheon and Jeju, have competed to become the host of the November
meeting.
"Seoul is quite likely the location of G20 summit," Park Sun-kyoo, spokesman for
the presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, told reporters. "The government will hold
a meeting on Monday to make a final confirmation."
Seoul has earned the highest marks in terms of transportation, meeting facilities
and accommodation, as judges considered that about 30 heads of state and their
10,000 or so attendants are expected to attend the conference.
But South Korea will seek to hold minister- and vice-minister level preparatory
meetings in cities other than Seoul, officials said.
President Lee Myung-bak has called for concerted national efforts to upgrade
Korea's credit standing and brand competitiveness through its successful hosting
of next November's G20 summit.
"The hosting of G20 summit will catapult Korea into the center of the
international order and efforts to overcome the economic crisis. Korea's
international status will change from recipient of international order to its
creator. We shouldn't miss out on this opportunity," said Lee in his recent
public address.
As part of preparations, Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon will
visit Korea next week, said the Foreign Ministry here. During his three-day trip
starting Sunday, Cannon will meet with his South Korean counterpart, Yu
Myung-hwan, and discuss ways of cooperation for the G20 summit and fine-tune
agenda of a bilateral summit next month. Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper
is set to visit Seoul from Dec. 6-7 and hold talks with Lee on the second day.
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