KCCI economic forum explores opportunities

SEOGWIPO, Jeju -- Korea-based business heads and academics from home and abroad started a four-day forum on Jeju Island yesterday to explore ways to overcome economic challenges and help local companies sustain growth.

An estimated 400 entrepreneurs representing Korean companies are participating in the annual convention hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Participants who have gathered for the 34th annual forum at the Shilla Hotel here will have discussions under the theme "New Economic and Corporate Solutions in the Global Economic Crisis Era."



Minister of Knowledge Economy Lee Youn-ho opened the forum by sharing the ministry`s policy objectives for creating new growth engines with the attendance of KCCI chairman Sohn Kyung-sik.

Participants in today`s program will discuss how the Korean economy and businesses can overcome the current challenging times. Lee Sung-yong, head of Bain & Company Korea, and Hwang Su, chief executive of GE Korea will be some of the participating panel members.

Sohn Sung-won, an economics professor at California State University, will be speaking on the post-crisis challenges for the global economy and the Korean economy. The economics guru was ranked as among the top five most accurate economic forecasters in 2001 by Bloomberg News. Sohn was a senior economist on the President`s Council of Economic Advisors during the Nixon administration, where he managed the economic and legislative matters related to the Federal Reserve and financial markets.

Friday`s program has been devoted to small and medium-sized enterprises. Experts will discuss how SMEs can raise their competitiveness in the cutthroat global market. Another session will feature Fujimoto Takahiro, an economics professor at the University of Tokyo, to share his views on how Japanese SMEs became strong and competitive players in the global market.

The major topic to be covered on the final day of the forum is on plausible changes to the Korean economy and policy issues in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. (sohjung@heraldm.com)





By Yoo Soh-jung