WorldEconomic Forum on East Asia opens

By Kim Deok-hyun
SEOUL, June 18 (Yonhap) -- Asia should learn lessons from the current economic
crisis and embrace it as an opportunity to reshape its export-dependent economic
models to avoid another crisis, business leaders said Thursday.

The World Economic Forum on East Asia has opened at a hilltop hotel in Seoul for
a two-day run, attended by about 400 political and business leaders from 35
countries in the region.
Participants include South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Vietnamese Deputy
Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai, Danish Environment Minister Troels Lund Poulsen
and Thai Trade Representative Kiat Sittheeamorn.
"At the forum, we will discuss ways to overcome the current global economic
crisis and what actions we can take to avoid another crisis," said Cho Suck-rai,
chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, at the forum.
Drawing on South Korea's experience of successfully overcoming its financial
meltdown in the late 1990s, Cho said he believes a lack of government supervision
has caused the current U.S. financial market crisis.
Cho also urged Asian nations to find ways to stabilize the region's financial
systems that are vulnerable to a global financial crisis.
"I expect the current crisis to speed up the progress that the region has made
toward economic integration," Cho said.
Battling protectionism, reaffirming free trade and reforming the International
Monetary Fund, among other topics, will be discussed.
Asia accounts for six countries in the Group of 20 industrialized nations and
more than 35 percent of world gross domestic production, compared to 20 percent
each for the United States and the European Union.
But many economists say the global economic crisis has proved that Asia is not
immune to economic troubles stemming from major economies in the West.
"Asian nations play a critical role in the global economy and reshaping how the
world economy works," said Peter Sands, chief executive officer of Standard
Chartered Bank.
In addition, the forum will provide an opportunity to discuss the expanding
leadership role of Asia's G20 members, set against the focus of the new U.S.
administration on strengthening the trans-Pacific alliance, they said.
For South Korea in particular, the forum is expected to offer a chance to raise
its national profile as it prepares to assume the chairmanship of the G20 in
2010.
kdh@yna.co.kr
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