G20 Finance Ministers’ Meeting
Deputy Prime Minister Hong Attends G20 Finance Ministers
Meeting and IMF/WB Spring Meetings
Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki attended the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting and the IMF/WB Spring Meetings held in Washington D.C on April 11-13.
G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting
At the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting held on April 11-12, “the leaders identified trade tensions, rising global debt and financial anxiety in emerging markets as major risks to the global economy, while calling for expansionary fiscal and monetary policies, timely policy responses and more inclusiveness to boost global growth momentum”. Through his speeches, DPM Hong urged a need for “strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth momentum” to avert a global economic slowdown.
DPM Hong said G20 countries should work together to gain strong momentum in fiscal and monetary policies, adding that the Korean government has been increasing fiscal spending, such as through supplementary budgets.
DPM Hong also emphasized the importance of regulatory reform, industrial restructuring and labor market flexibility to grow sustainably, introducing Korea’s reform efforts, such as adopting regulatory sandboxes and pursuing both labor market flexibility and job security.
DPM Hong suggested addressing global imbalances to end trade disputes, saying that the Korean government is working to provide growth momentum to domestic markets, in particular service markets.
DPM Hong touched on the issue of inclusive growth in times of economic difficulty. DPM Hong talked about Korea’s efforts in this matter, such as strengthening social welfare programs and increasing the EITC.
IMFC Meetings
At Restricted Session on IMF Resources and Governance Reforms on 12th, DPM Hong talked about the importance of the IMF maintaining its lending capacity, supporting the IMF alternative to quota increase of extending its borrowing capacity in case member countries fail to reach an agreement.DPM Hong also said that the IMF governance should be reformed to better reflect emerging economies, and to better listen to low-income countries.
At IMFC Plenary Session on 13th, most member states agreed on the need for stronger international cooperation, and adopted the 39th IMFC Communiqué.
Please refer to the attached pdf
