President Lee: "Multilateral System Centered on WTO Undermined... But Free Trade Is the Only Way Forward"
President Lee Holds In-Flight Press Conference Aboard Air Force One
"G20 Joint Declaration Was Difficult to Achieve... Consensus on Minimizing Damage to the Multilateral System"
Highlights Shift Toward Regional and Minilateral Agreements
"We Must Continue to Emphasize Free Trade and Multilateralism"
President Lee Jaemyung emphasized the need to maintain a multilateral free trade system centered on the World Trade Organization (WTO) during the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit in South Africa. While acknowledging the trend toward protectionism and bloc formation, as well as the weakening of the WTO’s functions that began during the Trump administration in the United States, he made it clear that the fundamental order to which all countries must ultimately return is free trade and multilateralism.
On November 24 (local time), during an in-flight press conference aboard Air Force One en route from South Africa to T?rkiye, President Lee stated, “The multilateral system centered on the WTO-while it would be an exaggeration to say it needs to be restored, since it is not completely broken-has been significantly undermined.” He added, “The belief that we must prevent further collapse of multilateralism is shared not only by the Republic of Korea, but by almost all countries except for a few specific ones.”
"G20 Joint Declaration Was Difficult to Achieve... But the Message Is Free Trade"
President Lee acknowledged the challenges of multilateral negotiations by noting that the G20 summit’s outcome statement was issued in the name of “participating countries” rather than “all member states.” He said, “The G20’s outcome statement could not be issued in the name of all countries but only in the name of the participating countries, which suggests there were significant difficulties in coordinating the content.”
Nevertheless, he emphasized that there remains a consensus on free trade and the multilateral system, judging by the remarks of world leaders and heads of international organizations. President Lee explained, “If you look at the statements made by leaders and international organization representatives yesterday and today, everyone agrees on the need to strengthen the free trade system and the multilateral system, and to minimize any damage to them.”
President Lee continued, “There is no special power that can regulate relations between countries, and even if there are treaties or norms, there are often no effective means of enforcement if they are not observed. Nevertheless, since we live in an era where no country can exist in isolation, we must strive to create a multilateral order in which everyone is respected.”
"Bloc and Minilateral Arrangements Are Increasing, But We Must Continue to Mention Free Trade and Multilateralism"
President Lee also pointed out that, amid the instability of the WTO system, countries are increasingly turning to regional and minilateral agreements. He said, “There are discussions about combining the European Union with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and many proposals to form groups of countries with similar interests. As the WTO system faces threats, there is a move to create new forms and structures.”
However, even with these trends toward bloc formation and minilateral arrangements, he predicted that the overall direction would inevitably be toward free trade. President Lee stated, “If you put all these efforts together, free trade is virtually the only path for all countries to prosper together. Ultimately, I believe we have no choice but to follow that path.” He added, “We must continue to talk about free trade and multilateralism, even if only in words.” He stressed that the repeated reaffirmation of free trade principles in official documents and statements by major countries should serve as a kind of “breakwater.”
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President Lee’s remarks reaffirmed Korea’s position amid the current instability of the multilateral system caused by US-China strategic competition, controls on critical minerals and advanced technologies, and supply chain restructuring. Rather than leaning unilaterally toward the bloc formation of a particular camp, he reiterated the principles of multilateralism and free trade centered on the WTO.
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