Deputy Prime Minister Koo Presents 'K-Crisis Exit Strategy' for Middle East War at G20...Invited to G7 in May

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yoon-chul attended the '2026 1st G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting' held in Washington D.C., USA, on April 16 (local time), where he presented the Korean government’s comprehensive response to external uncertainties such as the Middle East war. He also called for strengthened international cooperation to stabilize supply chains and reinforce the resilience of the global economy. Additionally, he achieved tangible results, such as receiving a special invitation from France to the G7 Finance Ministers Meeting to be held in Paris in May and signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to establish an artificial intelligence (AI) hub.

On the first day of the meeting, G20 finance ministers and central bank governors identified regulatory and administrative burdens, inefficient tax systems, lack of investment, and a slowdown in labor supply and mobility as major factors hindering economic growth and growth-promoting reforms during the first session. They analyzed that the recent Middle East war has further amplified uncertainty in the global economy and financial markets, potentially acting as an additional constraint on economic growth.

Deputy Prime Minister Koo emphasized the need to strengthen the foundations for growth by expanding investment in areas such as AI, promoting regulatory innovation, and increasing labor supply. He introduced the Korean government’s recent policy direction, which involves mobilizing all available tools under the perception of an “economic wartime situation,” such as expanding policy finance and swiftly formulating a supplementary budget to address the impact of the war. He also stated that each country must minimize spillover effects on the real economy through prompt policy responses and active international cooperation and mentioned the need to seek G20-level solutions to stabilize global supply chains and reinforce the resilience of the world economy.

During the second session, which discussed global imbalances (a phenomenon in which large current account surpluses in certain countries result in current account deficits in others), Deputy Prime Minister Koo, as the lead speaker, assessed that excessive and persistent imbalances could pose another risk to the global economy. He emphasized that active cooperation among major countries, including the G20, is essential to appropriately prevent and manage these risk factors.

Gu Yoonchul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, visiting Washington D.C., USA to attend the G20 Finance Ministers Meeting and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) Spring Meetings, is taking a commemorative photo while shaking hands with Dzhamshid Hojaev, Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Economy, before a brief meeting at the IMF on the 16th (local time). Ministry of Economy and Finance

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Deputy Prime Minister Koo held bilateral meetings with Roland Lescure, France’s Minister of the Economy and Finance, Jim Chalmers, Australia’s Treasurer, and Dzhamshid Hojaev, Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economy.

During the meeting, the French side invited Deputy Prime Minister Koo to the G7 Finance Ministers Meeting to be held in Paris, France, on May 18 and 19. France sees Korea as being able to play an active role in responding to economic uncertainties caused by the Middle East war, addressing global imbalances, and collaborating on supply chain issues.

In meetings with Australia and Uzbekistan, discussions focused on cooperation in supply chains for energy and critical minerals. Deputy Prime Minister Koo explained, “Australia and Uzbekistan are extremely important partners for us in supply chain cooperation for critical minerals, and Korea, based on its advanced manufacturing and technological capabilities, serves as a core processing and utilization country in the global value chain. Therefore, it is necessary to further expand our strategic partnerships.” He also expressed hope that concrete measures on these topics could be discussed at the Korea-Uzbekistan Deputy Prime Ministers’ Meeting and the Korea-Australia Director-General Level Supply Chain Policy Dialogue, both to be held within the year.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Koo Yoon-chul, who visited Washington D.C., USA to attend the G20 Finance Ministers Meeting and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) Spring Meetings, had a meeting with Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank (WB), at the World Bank (WB) on the 16th (local time). Ministry of Strategy and Finance

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In his meeting with Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank (WB), Deputy Prime Minister Koo presented his vision for establishing a “Global AI Hub” by concentrating AI and digital offices of the United Nations (UN) and multilateral development banks (MDBs) in Korea. He introduced plans to develop this initiative into a global platform that would enable Korea’s AI technologies and businesses to expand worldwide. The World Bank had already established the “WB Global Digital Knowledge Center,” an AI and digital knowledge hub, in Korea at the end of last year. Deputy Prime Minister Koo and President Banga also discussed cooperation projects related to blockchain and ways to support young people from developing countries to receive AI education in Korea by establishing an AI campus.

In his meeting with Jin Liqun, President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Deputy Prime Minister Koo requested continued interest and cooperation to further strengthen the partnership between Korea and AIIB, including the expansion of Korean personnel involvement.

In addition, Deputy Prime Minister Koo and Ilan Goldfajn, President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), discussed ways to expand Korea-IDB cooperation and signed the “Korea-IDB AI Hub MOU,” agreeing to pursue the establishment of an IDB AI cooperation office in Korea by 2027. This is significant, as the MOU advances bilateral cooperation to the implementation stage following the signing of a letter of intent (LOI) for investment between Korea and IDB last year. A government official said, “Through this AI hub MOU, we expect that Korea’s outstanding AI technologies and businesses will be able to participate in IDB projects or help spread Korea’s best practices in the Latin American region.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Koo plans to attend the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) meeting and a special session of the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting on April 17, and to hold meetings with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

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