1st Vice Minister Kim Attends Korea Innovation Week
and Holds IR Meeting in New York
The Korean delegation led by 1st Vice Minister Kim Yongbeom participated in Korea Innovation Week, Korea-WBG Partnership Week for Innovation and Technology, held from February 18 to 20, 2020 in the World Bank’s headquarters in Washington D.C. where the Korean delegation promoted Korea’s advanced technologies and innovation in the hope to help developing countries achieve economic prosperity, and sought ways to expand cooperation with the World Bank.
In his congratulatory remarks, 1st VM Kim said that the World Bank’s aid contributed a lot to Korea’s economic development, and thanks to such support, Korea is now one of the most iconic success models of World Bank aid programs. 1st VM Kim hoped that Korea Innovation Week will serve as a great chance for Korea and the World Bank to further strengthen bilateral cooperation, adding that hopefully, Korea’s development experience can help the World Bank achieve its major goal of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity.
During Korea Innovation Week, a special exhibition titled “From Despair To Prosperity” took place to shed light on Korea’s remarkable economic development journey, and a series of workshops were held based on the following four themes:
- Digital Economy & 5G: share Korea’s experience of becoming the World’s first country to commercialize the 5G network and developing a startup ecosystem
- Smart Cities: introduce Korea’s smart city strategies, policies and national smart city pilot projects
- Green Innovation: showcase Korea’s efforts to promote a circular economy and disruptive agriculture technology
- The Future of Education and Skills: discuss ways to develop skills for future jobs
The Korea Innovation Week served as a great opportunity for the Korean government to promote the country’s advanced technologies and innovation, and provided valuable chances for Korea’s public institutions and businesses to more actively participate in the World Bank’s development projects in the future.
Investors Roundtable
On his visit to the US, 1st VM Kim Yongbeom held Investors Roundtable, an Investor Relations (IR) meeting, in New York on February 19, 2020, and emphasized the government’s policy directions to boost economic recovery momentum and long-term growth. Investors from global asset management companies and investment banks located in New York participated in the meeting and discussed Korea’s current economic issues and policies.
At the Meeting, 1st VM Kim introduced the government’s policy directions for strong long-term growth:
- Regaining Growth Momentum through expansionary macroeconomic policies, more investment and vibrant domestic consumption
- Promoting Innovation in technology, talent development, R&D and finance by strengthening competitiveness in major industries while developing new industries
- Restructuring the Economy through bold regulatory reform, along with structural reform in the labor market and the public sector
- Preparing for the Future by increasing the fertility rate, improving living conditions for the elderly, and by responding to the increasing number of single-person households
- Strengthening Risk Management to effectively respond to important issues such as global trade conflicts and rising household debt
Talks with top S&P officials
1st VM Kim also met with high-level officials from credit rating agency S&P including Managing Director in Sovereign Ratings Group Roberto Sifon-Arevalo and Managing Director of Sovereign and International Public Finance Ratings Lisa M. Schineller to discuss economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak.
At the talks, 1st VM Kim said the government has been making its utmost effort to minimize the economic fallout from the virus, and is preparing for comprehensive measures to maintain recovery momentum. S&P officials said that the outbreak will have a limited impact on sovereign credit ratings as its economic impact on Korea and the Asia-Pacific region will be temporary and economic situations will get better next year.
