Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests,

I am pleased to see so many business leaders from all across the world. I had the pleasure of meeting many of you in Seoul during last year’s Business Summit.

Last year during the inaugural business summit in Seoul, 120 business leaders from 34 countries came together. Leaders from the business sector came together to pool their wisdom and to offer recommendations on how to overcome the financial crisis. The outcome of the Seoul Business Summit helped us come up with concrete action plans which led to tangible progress. We are once again gathered here in Cannes to make a difference and to help the world overcome the global challenges that we face. 

I''m pleased to see that the Business Summit is not a one-time event; it has developed into an influential meeting and this makes me proud.

I would like to especially thank Ms. Parisot of MEDEF and Mr. Worms of the ICC and for everyone who took part in preparing tonight''s event.

Distinguished business leaders,

There have been many changes since we met a year ago in Seoul.

Even before the wounds of the 2008 global financial crisis could heal, in just 3 years, here we are once again, facing yet another global sovereign debt crisis. The Eurozone crisis has spread to the financial sector and the real economy. Instability within the developed countries is expanding, having negative spillover effects on emerging and developing countries.

Therefore, we must pursue fundamental solutions in a structured manner in order to revive the global economy.

Those countries who have accumulated excessive national debt, caused by over spending on welfare and loose management of its finances, must restore fiscal sustainability. This will no doubt be a painful process. Governments will have to work hard to restore public confidence.

In this era of globalization all economies are interconnected; a crisis in one country almost always has an effect on another country.

This is why the efforts of individual countries are important. But I’d like to add, it is essential that the collective efforts of the global community must come up with effective international measures swiftly and boldly.

International cooperation amongst the G20 countries is critical.

During the 2008 financial crisis, the G20 countries came together and exercised coordinated leadership and saved the global economy from recession. I recall coordinating our policies, such as fiscal expenditures, standstill which prevented protectionism, and carrying out financial regulatory reform.

In seeking ways to overcome the crisis of today, the G20 is once again playing an important role. I hope that tomorrow''s G20 Leaders’ Summit will yield substantive results.

All countries will carry out coordinated policies, differentiated according to each nation''s unique circumstances. In the end, we will strive towards the G20''s goal of achieving a��Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth of the World Economy��.

The B20’s role for the global economy is as important as the G20’s.

The business community has a better understanding of and a better knowledge on how to overcome this crisis. You have experienced at various times different types of crises and you managed to overcome those challenges. That''s why you were successful in building a world-class global enterprise. 

That is why your recommendations borne out of actual experiences will be helpful to the G20.

At the Seoul Business Summit we engaged in a rich and diverse exchange of views on issues such as trade and investment, finance, green growth, and youth employment. They were conducted under an overarching theme of ��the Role of Business for Sustainable and Balanced Growth��.

Your opinions have acted as an invaluable reference for the G20 Leaders and your recommendations were duly reflected in the Leaders'' Declaration. I would like to thank you once again for coming together and deliberating ideas for global economic recovery.

I strongly agree with your recommendation that the public and private sector must work closely together. The two will establish better global governance, spur economic growth and ensure sustainable growth.

Distinguished business leaders,

Currently, instability in the global market and future uncertainties are rising. There are concerns that the economic crisis is leading to political instability and social unrest.

The youths are demanding jobs. According to the International Labor Organization, the number of jobs in the world has decreased by more than 20 million since the 2008 global crisis. More than 75 million of the world’s youths are jobless.

While globalization and the development of information and communication technology have greatly contributed to enhancing our quality of life, we still have to resolve the widening income gap. These situations have increased calls for the restoration of business ethics and corporate social responsibility. To overcome these difficulties, we should keep in mind that we all must work together- governments, businesses, and workers.

Especially now where governments, having faced a global financial crisis, are left with little spending capacity to spare, the role of the business sector has risen substantially.

The principal actor in our quest to revive and invigorate the economy is the business sector. Without the investment and employment conducted by businesses, even an excellent government policy will be unable to bear fruit.

At a time of unprecedented global crisis, entrepreneurship that fosters creative innovation, is extremely important.

Throughout history, we know well, how creative and innovative entrepreneurial minds have changed the world.

It is important that companies create jobs and contribute to growth through innovation and investment. I’ve learned through my own personal experience that many businesses around the world have succeeded by being more innovative and by carrying out bold investments during recessions.

Owing to your active investment and productive activities, the world economy is bearing through the crisis. However, recovery is falling behind and the problem of unemployment persists.

I count on all business leaders to play a greater role in creating jobs, increasing investments, and undertaking technological innovations. Before expecting corporate investments, governments must reform the investment climate and get rid of unnecessary regulations.

The Korean government has concentrated on making a more favorable environment for businesses. More so in the face of crises. As soon as I was elected president, we established the Presidential Council on National Competitiveness. The committee consists of national, international business leaders, economic experts, and government officials. This committee abolished unnecessary regulations that hindered the activities of entrepreneurs. They visited sites seeking opinions and related government departments worked together to solve problems.

Even during a crisis situation, we actively pursued open foreign policies. At the 2008 Washington G20 Summit, I strongly supported free trade through the freezing of new barriers on trade and investment. The Standstill recommendation was adopted in the Leaders’ Declaration and helped pave the way for international coordination to overcome the crisis.

While multilateral trade negotiations were in impasse, through FTAs we moved towards a more global Korea with open and free trade. By concluding FTAs with a total of 45 countries, we have established a network with countries consisting of 60% of the world GDP.

The result of such efforts was Korea''s positive GDP growth in the year 2009, followed by 6.1% growth rate last year that was highest amongst OECD countries. This year''s World Bank''s ''Doing Business'' ranks Korea 8th in the world, a big jump from 23rd in 2008.

I believe business sector reform and free trade increases jobs and acts as a new growth source for corporate investment in times of economic difficulty.

Distinguished business leaders,

The world is facing severe problems of energy resource shortage and climate change.

A few days ago, the world population exceeded 7 billion. It only took 12 years for the world population to increase by 1 billion. Such rapid rise of population increases energy demand, which in turn incurs severe climate change problems. As you can see in the recent tragedy of Bangkok, unforeseen weather phenomena are continuously occurring in various parts of the world.

I firmly believe that balancing environmental sustainability and economic growth is an imminent task for all humanity.

In order to tackle this issue, the role of the private sector is as important as the public sector. I thank you for once again giving us fine suggestions in green growth at the B20. I particularly agree with the importance of developing new green technology through cooperation between the public and private sectors.

Moreover, we need a paradigm shift. Climate change is not a cost that we have to cope with but a new growth opportunity.

According to forecasts by some global organizations, reducing 50% of the worlds green-house gases by 2050 requires up to 50 trillion US dollars.

This means that there also exists a huge environment and energy industry worth 50 trillion US dollars. In other words, it means the emergence of clean and renewable energy industries. As such, it is possible to pursue growth and create jobs while protecting the environment.

Along these lines, I adopted and pursued ‘Low Carbon Green Growth’ as part of Korea’s new national development paradigm. During the global financial crisis we pursued a ''Green New Deal'' policy expanding fiscal spending for green growth.

The most representative policy is the “Four Rivers Project". In Korea we have carried out restoration of the four biggest national rivers. This past summer, Korea experienced its heaviest rainfall in 100 years. However, thanks to this project, we were able to avoid major damage. This project solves the fundamental problems created by climate change, such as water shortage and floods. It is forecasted that this will lead to a revitalized regional economy and create jobs.

Early this year, the Korean government legislated our Basic Law on Green Growth, setting a goal for next year to reduce green-house gases and to put all our efforts into achieving it.

I now have a vision of Korea in the 21st century, impressing the world once again, as a model country for eco-friendly economic development. If those of you, who are present today, lead the way, I am confident that the world will be able to create opportunities for all to both protect the environment and sustain growth. Which is why I am thankful to all of you who have participated in this Cannes Summit.

I know you all are extremely busy, so once again, I''d like to thank you for participating in the B20. I look forward to seeing you again next year in Mexico.

Thank you.