Lee Hyeong-il makes international debut just a month after taking office...Heads to Thailand for G20 finance ministers' meeting

Bilateral Meeting Requests Pour In for "New Face" Deputy Prime Minister
Attends G7 Meeting... Series of Engagements with Major Countries and Credit Rating Agencies

Just over a month after taking office, Lee Hyeong-il, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy, is making his debut on the multilateral diplomatic stage. Lee left for Bangkok, Thailand, on Oct. 14 to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB), as well as meetings of the Group of 20 (G20) and Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers and central bank governors. As this is his first international multilateral meeting since taking office, he plans to focus on strengthening global coordination and actively highlighting Korea's robust economic fundamentals to the world.

Lee Hyungil, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy, departs from Incheon International Airport for Bangkok, Thailand, on Oct. 14 to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), as well as meetings of G20 and G7 finance ministers and central bank governors. Ministry of Finance and Economy

According to the Ministry of Finance and Economy on Oct. 14, global finance chiefs are keenly interested in Korea's new economic leader at this international meeting. Finance ministers from various countries have reportedly made a flurry of requests for bilateral meetings to meet Lee in person, making his first appearance on the multilateral stage as a "new face," and filling his travel schedule. With a packed agenda divided into 15-minute to one-hour slots, Lee plans to accommodate as many of the requests as possible, meet finance officials from major countries for the first time, and establish close communication channels. A series of back-to-back meetings is scheduled with finance ministers from major countries, including Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Poland, as well as leaders of major international financial institutions, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI).

The international stage will also offer a glimpse of the significant rise in Korea's standing. On the evening of Oct. 15, Lee will attend a G7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting as an invited guest. Korea has been invited to G7 finance ministers' meetings twice in one year, including in May, marking the first time this has ever happened. Drawing on its elevated position as a "G7 Plus (G7+)" country, Lee plans to further strengthen multilateral cooperation with the financial authorities of major advanced economies.

On the morning of Oct. 15, he will attend the G20 Finance Ministers' Meeting. This is the last in-person finance ministers' meeting hosted by the United States as G20 chair before the G20 Leaders' Summit scheduled for December. The meeting will focus on sharing this year's achievements and in-depth discussions on ways to cooperate with the United Kingdom, the next chair. Whether Lee would hold his first in-person bilateral meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the sidelines of the meeting had initially drawn attention. However, after Bessent ultimately decided not to attend, Lee reportedly held a video conference the day before his departure to cover the discussions between the two countries. On Oct. 17, he will attend the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) meeting to discuss countries' policy responses to the global economic outlook and key economic issues, concluding his schedule of multilateral meetings.

During his trip, Lee plans to meet senior executives from the world's three major credit rating agencies—Moody's, Fitch and Standard & Poor's (S&P)—as well as the CEO of Euroclear Group, to personally underscore the strength of Korea's economic fundamentals and make an all-out effort to promote the "K-economy." He also plans to focus on enhancing Korea's standing abroad through an interview with global business broadcaster CNBC, explaining the dynamism of the Korean economy and the government's policy direction to foreign investors and the market. 

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.