Following an agreement between leaders of the world''s major economies to institutionalize the Group of 20 as a permanent council on global economic cooperation, Korea was selected to host a summit in November next year.

The leaders of the world''s 20 largest economies will meet in Canada in June and Korea in  November for economic policy coordination, President Lee Myung-bak and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced in a joint press conference in Pittsburgh, the United States, broadcast live on Sept. 25.

"First, let me inform our citizens that it was decided to hold the 2010 G-20 summit in Korea in
November," the Korean president said at the press conference, adding that the decision passed unanimously. Canada will host the fourth G-20 meeting in June on the sidelines of the G-8 summit there. The June summit will be co-hosted and co-chaired by Korea, Harper said.

G-20 leaders will gather once a year for a routine summit starting in 2011. In the interim year of 2010, Canada and South Korea will host two rounds, in June and November, respectively. Korea assumes the forum chair next year.

The Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors - known as the G-20 for short - was created in response to the financial crisis of the late 1990s and to growing recognition that emerging economies were not adequately included in the core of global economic discussions and governance.

The first heads-of-government-level G-20 financial summit took place in Washington in November 2008 to address the aftermath of the financial meltdowns that hit the world earlier that year. Another round of meetings took place in London, and the September meeting in Pittsburgh was the third of its kind.

During the latest meeting, the leaders agreed to transform the forum into the world''s main body for coordinating economic policy. The G-20 economies comprise 85 percent of the gross world product, 80 percent of world trade and two-thirds of the world population.
 

 With this decision, the G-20 will replace the existing Group of Eight, the forum of industrialized
nations that long dominated the world economy. The shift from G-8 to G-20 is also designed to reflect the changing global economy and emerging countries such as China, India and Brazil as well as Korea.

"Today, leaders endorsed the G-20 as the premier forum for international economic cooperation," the White House said in a statement. "This decision brings to the table the countries needed to build a stronger, more balanced global economy, reform the financial
system and lift the lives of the poorest."

Upon returning home, President Lee arranged a special press conference and encouraged Koreans to view their country as a central member of the global order. In a media event
televised live around the nation on Sept. 30, Lee disclosed a vision for a greater Korea.

Noting that Korea''s hosting of the Group of 20 Summit in November next year would be an
opportunity to upgrade the country''s position in the global community, Lee said Koreans
must work together to improve the nation''s status.

In the special speech titled, "Paradigm shift for moving toward center stage from the periphery of the international arena," Lee said Koreans were about to begin a new era in their history.

Lee did not hide his excitement over the decision to locate the G-20 Summit in November 2010 in Korea. The president said that as many of his foreign counterparts congratulated him, he was proud to be leader of Korea.

"I am standing here today because I want to talk about the fact that Koreans are great and
that the world is now recognizing that fact," Lee said. He added that Koreans have made tremendous accomplishments over the past century.

"Significantly, our hosting of the G-20 summit falls during the year marking the 100th anniversary of the forced annexation of Korea by imperial Japan. I am filled with mixed feelings," he said. "During the past century, we suffered the pain of watching our destiny fall into the hands of world powers because we were too weak.

"Korea has now, however, become one of the leading players in the international community,
recognized by advanced countries."

Lee said it was especially significant for Korea to host the summit right after it had become the center of economic policy making. "The projected hosting of the summit basically signifies that Korea has finally and completely steered itself away from the periphery of Asia to the center of the world," the president said.

Following the speech, a brief question-andanswer session was arranged with Cheong Wa Dae correspondents and foreign journalists, which was also broadcast live.

During the conference, Lee stressed that his government would make efforts to persuade the North to give up its nuclear arms instead of relying on the policies of larger powers.

"Until now, Korea just followed others and was passive in international society and did not have a say," Lee said. "Now, we are a member of the G-20. We will be the chair nation and the host next year, and the world will treat us differently. It will no longer be possible to discuss a global issue without including Korea."

A senior Lee administration official said Korea''s hosting of the G-20 in November next year would be a breakthrough in the country''s diplomatic history.

"Lee''s leadership in past G-20 summits in Washington and London has been widely praised," the official said. "The president made clear his position against trade protectionism, initiating ''standstill'' pledges among the participants at the Washington G-20 summit not to erect any new trade and investment barriers. This has been seen as one of the most significant achievements of the forum."
 

Shortly after the Washington summit last year, South Korea launched aggressive efforts to host a G-20 summit. Lee ordered a task force to be established and appointed Sakong Il, then his special economic advisor, to head the G-20 Summit Coordinating Committee.

Sakong traveled around the world as Lee''s envoy to persuade major G-20 nations including the United States, Britain, France, Germany, China and Japan to support Korea''s bid, and the 10 months of passionate diplomacy paid off.

"This is not [an unexpected] windfall," a senior South Korean official added, noting that U.S. President Barack Obama was the most supportive of Korea''s bid. At the London summit in April, Obama suggested that Korea should host the 2010 summit and the proposal was widely endorsed by G-20 members, he explained.

Marcus Noland, deputy director and senior fellow at the Washington-based Peterson Institute
for International Economics, told media that Korea''s hosting the summit next year will be an opportunity akin to the Seoul Olympics in 1988.

"[This] is an opportunity for Korea to demonstrate its strengths to the rest of the world, and that can only have a positive impact on Korea''s economy in the long run," Noland said.

The scholar attributed Korea''s successful bid to the hard work of the Lee administration and the growing stature of the Korean economy. Korea has experienced the world''s fastest recovery and has taken a leading role in setting an agenda that includes green development and anti-protectionism.

"Diplomatically, Korea''s hosting of the G-20 next year is a big deal," he said. "Korean policy makers are considered highly capable and the rest of the world is looking for good things to come out of the summit that Korea will host."

Korea''s five influential business organizations also hailed the hosting of the summit. "The selection of South Korea as a venue for the G-20 summit next year means the nation''s role is rapidly expanding in the international community," the business groups said in a joint statement. "It was one of the greatest achievements for the nation''s diplomatic history."

The business groups included the Federation of Korean Industries and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Next year''s G-20 summit schedules are also arranged in order to make optimal use of a scarce resource: the global leaders'' time. In June, Canada was scheduled to host the G-8 summit, and hosting the G-20 within the same time frame is expected to significantly curtail the amount of travel world leaders have to undertake.

In November, Japan also hosts the APEC summit, and Korea''s hosting of the G-20 in the same month will serve the busy schedules of state heads best.