P resident Lee Myung-bak attended a reception hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Oct. 30 to celebrate the Green Climate Fund (GCF) decision to locate its head office in Songdo, Incheon, Korea’s selection to be a director nation of the U.N. Security Council, the launching of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) as an official international organization, and the World Bank decision to set up an office in Incheon.

In the last couple of weeks, Korea was elected to the U.N. Security Council; won the right to host the secretariat of the U.N.’s GCF; and saw the launching of the Seoul-established GGGI as an official international organization. President Jim Yong Kim of the World Bank signed an agreement with Minister Bahk Jae-wan of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance (MOSF) to set up an office in Incheon during his visit to Seoul last week.

The Chief Executive said the GCF secretariat will bring “enormous” benefits. “I believe that Korea’s national fortune will rise even higher with the GCF secretariat’s head office in Incheon,” Lee said as he met with business leaders at a commemorative meeting hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry to celebrate Korea winning the bid to locate the GCF secretariat office in Incheon.

In his speech, Lee said the GCF is the most effective means to fight climate change that is threatening the earth. The occasion was also held to congratulate Korea’s selection as a director nation of the U.N. Security Council and the host country of the GGGI. Among the dignitaries were Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik; MOSF Minister Bahk; Minister Kim Seong-hwan of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik of the KCCI; Chairman Han Duck-soo of the Korea International Trade Association; and Chairman Huh Chang-soo of the Federation of Korean Industries, among the 300 in attendance. 

“In the beginning, thousands of staff members will reside in Songdo, Incheon. In addition, about a hundred conferences will be convened annually, which means that the city will host international conferences almost all year round,” Lee said.

“Not a one-off event such as the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup, this permanent organization will be scaled up as the years go by, thereby making significant contributions to the national economy,” he said. “The fact that a large-scale international body is headquartered in Korea also is huge on the security front,” President Lee Myung-bak said on Oct. 29 to boost the morale of businesses so that they can work harder and help lead South Korea out of the economic slowdown amid growing concern that Asia’s fourth-largest economy may be entering a low-growth trend.

Lee made the appeal after the Bank of Korea’s data showed last week that Korea’s economy grew 0.2 percent in the July-September period from three months earlier, the slowest pace in nearly three years after a 0.2 percent on-quarter gain in the fourth quarter of 2009.

“The nation’s growth is somewhat slowing as the world enters a low-growth period. The Korean economy has been faring relatively better than many other economies, which in turn means the lowering of the foreign exchange rate. This, however, creates difficulties for exporters,” Lee said during his biweekly radio address.

Lee said he is still confident of a fast turnaround.