Kim Beom-seok, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, "Growth Potential Must Be Restored Through Structural Reform"

Kim Beom-seok, 1st Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance

Kim Beom-seok, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, argued that the growth potential of the global economy must be restored through structural reforms.

At the opening speech of the '2024 G20 (Group of Twenty) Global Economy and Financial Stability Conference' held at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul on the 23rd, Vice Minister Kim diagnosed that the current global economy is facing complex challenges such as geopolitical fragmentation, declining growth potential, climate change, technological transition, and global policy shifts.

He proposed three restoration measures to recover global economic growth and strengthen crisis response capabilities: growth potential, global order and norms, and inter-country policy coordination.

Vice Minister Kim emphasized, "In a situation where the contribution of labor and capital to growth is decreasing, improving efficiency through structural reforms is the most important factor in restoring growth potential," adding, "As recently announced by the World Bank (WB), we must move toward innovation through the creative destruction of outdated institutions and customs."

He also introduced, "Korea has recently announced the Dynamic Economy Roadmap and continues to innovate to reignite the engines of economic growth, including labor and capital market reforms and digital transformation."

Vice Minister Kim stated, "Restoring the global order and norms based on trust among countries is also important," and argued, "In response to the fragmentation and increasing uncertainty of the global economy and the unknown technological domains, the international community must establish principles for cooperation."

He continued, "Restoring the WTO-centered multilateral trading system is the top priority to resolve the division of the global economy," and said, "We must closely cooperate to remove barriers to trade and investment in various multilateral forums and bilateral cooperation processes and to build a resilient global supply chain network."

Following Vice Minister Kim, Cho Dong-chul, President of the Korea Development Institute (KDI), said, "The global economy is experiencing significant changes due to the segmentation of international finance and trade and the monetary policy shifts of major countries," and proposed, "It is necessary to review the major risk factors of the global economy and finance and the role of policy authorities, and to cooperate for a balanced recovery of the global economy and strengthening the stability of international finance."

The conference is scheduled to feature various discussions on topics such as the global economy, monetary policy, and digital finance, starting with a keynote speech by Masood Ahmed, President of the Global Development Center.

Meanwhile, the event was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Korea Development Institute (KDI), the Bank of Korea, and the Bretton Woods Committee (RBWC). Since its first event in 2013, this marks the 10th conference, providing a platform for domestic and international scholars and G20 policymakers to diagnose major challenges in the global economy and international financial markets and to seek response measures.

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