The 2010 G20 Seoul Summit was the fifth meeting of the G20 heads of government/heads of state, to discuss the

global financial system The global financial system is the worldwide framework of legal agreements, institutions, and both formal and informal economic actors that together facilitate international flows of financial capital for purposes of investment and trade finan ...

and the

world economy The world economy or global economy is the economy of all humans of the world, referring to the global economic system, which includes all economic activities which are conducted both within and between nations, including production, consumptio ...

,Cho Jin-seo
"Seoul unveils G20 summit's symbol,"
''Korea Times'' (ROK). July 8, 2010; retrieved Nov 10, 2010. which took place in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

, the capital of South Korea, on November 11–12, 2010. South Korea was the first non- G8 nation to host a G20 leaders' summit. The G20 is the premier forum for discussing, planning, and monitoring international economic cooperation. The theme of the summit was "Shared Growth Beyond Crisis".

Agenda

The summit leaders addressed several mid- and long-term policy issues, including * Ensuring global economic recoveryG20 Seoul summit
Agenda
/ref> * Framework for strong, sustainable, and balanced global growth * Strengthening the international financial regulatory system * Modernizing the

international financial institutions An international financial institution (IFI) is a financial institution that has been established (or chartered) by more than one country, and hence is subject to international law. Its owners or shareholders are generally national governments, a ...

* Global financial safety netsG20 Seoul summit
New agenda and initiatives
* Development issues * The risk of a

currency war Currency war, also known as competitive devaluations, is a condition in international affairs where countries seek to gain a trade advantage over other countries by causing the exchange rate of their currency to fall in relation to other curr ...

Representatives met in advance of the leaders' summit. These

sherpas The Sherpa are one of the Tibetan ethnic groups native to the most mountainous regions of Nepal, Tingri County in the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Himalayas. The term ''sherpa'' or ''sherwa'' derives from the Sherpa language words ("east") ...

were tasked to draft a closing statement for the summit. The debate over currency

exchange rates In finance, an exchange rate is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another currency. Currencies are most commonly national currencies, but may be sub-national as in the case of Hong Kong or supra-national as in the case of ...

and imbalances was reported to have been "heated".

Preparations

The summit logo incorporated two images: the sun rising over the sea and a traditional Korean lantern (''

cheongsachorong A cheongsachorong is a traditional Korean lantern. It is typically made by joining red and blue silk shades and hanging a candle inside the body. Although used historically in wedding ceremonies, it is widely displayed in various cultural exhibiti ...

''). Originally, three new

artificial islands An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those th ...

built on the Han River between the

Banpo Banpo is an archaeological site discovered in 1953 by Shi Xingbang, and located in the Yellow River Valley just east of Xi'an, China. It contains the remains of several well organized Neolithic settlements, like Jiangzhai, carbon dated t ...

and Dongjak bridges were going to be used as the main venue.Kang Shin-who
"Seoul to Host G20 Summit on 'Floating Islands' on Han River,"
''Korea Times'' (ROK). January 10, 2010; retrieved Nov 10, 2010. However, delayed construction of the islands led for the main summit venue to relocate to

COEX Convention & Exhibition Center Coex Convention & Exhibition Center (Coex) located in Samseong-dong of Gangnam-gu district, Seoul, is one of South Korea's convention and exhibition centers. Coex is serviced by Samseong Station on line 2 and Bongeunsa Station on line 9 of the ...

. The

Republic of Korea Armed Forces The Republic of Korea Armed Forces (), also known as the ROK Armed Forces, are the armed forces of South Korea. The ROK Armed Forces is one of the largest and most powerful standing armed forces in the world with a reported personnel strength o ...

and

Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA; Hangul: ko, 서울지방경찰청; Hanja: ) is the primary police force for the South Korean capital city of Seoul; it is not an independent police force in of itself, but is one of 16 provincial sub- ...

provided security for the venues. A group of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n artists, consisting of Gyu-ri,

Seohyun Seo Ju-hyun (; born June 28, 1991), known professionally as Seohyun, is a South Korean singer, actress and songwriter. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation (and later its subgroup Girls' Generation-TTS) in August 2007, which ...

, Jun. K,

Changmin Shim Chang-min (; born February 18, 1988), also known by his stage name Max Changmin () or simply as Max, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, actor, and a member of the pop duo TVXQ. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Changmin was scou ...

, Jaekyung, Jonghyun,

Sungmin Sung-min, also spelled Seong-min, is a Korean unisex given name (predominantly masculine). Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write each syllable of the name. There are 27 hanja with the reading " sung" and 27 hanja with the reading ...

Kahi KAHI (950 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk format. Licensed to Auburn, California, United States, the station serves the Auburn area. The station is owned by Relevant Radio; the KAHI Corporation programs the station under a time ...

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Roma ...

, Ji Eun, Junhyung, Gayoon,

Min Min or MIN may refer to: Places * Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China ** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian * Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China * Min River (Fujian) * Min River (Sichuan) * Mineola (Amtr ...

, G.O,

Bumkey Kwon Ki-bum (Hangul: 권기범, born September 22, 1984), known as Bumkey (Hangul: 범키), is a South Korean R&B singer under Brand New Music. He made his musical debut in 2010 as part of the hip hop duo 2winS and is currently a member of the K ...

G.NA Gina Jane Choi (born September 13, 1987), better known by her stage name G.NA, is a Korean Canadian singer, songwriter and actress based in South Korea. She released her debut EP, '' Draw G's First Breath'', on July 14, 2010. As a solo arti ...

, Son Dam-bi,

Seo In-guk Seo In-guk (; born October 23, 1987) is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actor. He launched his singing career after winning the talent reality show ''Superstar K'' in 2009, and made his acting breakthrough in ''Reply 1997'' (2012). Since ...

, IU, and Anna, credited as ''Group of 20'' recorded a song titled "Let's Go" for the summit.

Transportation

Most world leaders and international media arrived via Incheon International Airport and traveled to the summit venue via motorcades along the highway from the airport. Transportation around the summit venue was upgraded with electric buses to help media and others around the city.

Attendance

The participants of the Seoul summit included the leaders and representatives of core members of the G20, which comprises 19 countries and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

, which is represented by its two governing bodies, the

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the ...

and the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

. Representatives from other countries and regional organizations were invited to take part in the summit. The South Korean government declined to invite the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, which had been invited to attend all four previous G20 summits. A Korean spokesman said that "a certain region had been over-represented" in the past; and for this Asian summit,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

was invited.Cho Jin-se
Five non-G20 nations invited to Seoul Summit
''

Korea Times ''The Korea Times'' is the oldest of three English-language newspapers published daily in South Korea. It is a sister paper of the ''Hankook Ilbo'', a major Korean language daily; both are owned by Dongwha Enterprise, a wood-based manufacturer ...

'' (ROK). September 24, 2010; retrieved Nov 10, 2010 This was the first summit at which there were four women among the leaders. In addition to President

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (; born 19 February 1953), often referred to by her initials CFK, is an Argentine lawyer and politician who has served as the Vice President of Argentina since 2019. She also served as the President o ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

, Prime Minister

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, Chancellor

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, and the president-elect of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil, holding the position from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the first ...

, accompanied her nation's delegation. This was the first G20 summit for Australia's Prime Minister Gillard, who had only been elected shortly before the Toronto summit. This was also the first opportunity for Prime Minister

Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (; born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been serving as Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party since 2004. He has been the Member of Par ...

to listen and to make his voice heard at the G20 leaders' meetings.

Security

Security for the G20 summit presented a unique array of problems. In addition to the security of the main venue,

COEX World Trade Center Seoul (WTC Seoul) () is a building complex centered on the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center (Coex) on Teheranno in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu district of Seoul. It is operated by KITA (Korea International Trade Associatio ...

, South Korea was more broadly responsible for providing a safe venue for the delegations who come to the summit. The

National Police Agency National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: Cuban National Police *East Timor: National Police of ...

led the security detail for the summit, both at the convention venue and the airport as well. Other police and security agencies involved were: * Presidential Security Service * National Intelligence Service * Ministry of National Defense * National Emergency Management Agency G20 protests Seoul - VOA - police

G20 protests Seoul - VOA - labor protesters

In preparation, anti-terrorism drills were held by members of the South Korean police, military, special forces and private sector as part of the 2010

Ulchi-Freedom Guardian Ulchi-Freedom Guardian (을지 프리덤 가디언, Eulji peurideom gadieon) is the name () of the military exercise previously known as Ulchi-Focus Lens, a combined military exercise between South Korea and the United States. The exercise is the wo ...

exercises against simulated hostage situations and chemical, biological and radiological attacks as a preparation for the summit. Plans for accommodating peaceful protesters were paired with plans for mitigating disruptive demonstrations. The G20 raised security concerns unrelated to demonstrators protesting the presence of the leaders of 20 economies in Seoul. For example, some analysts projected that anything perceived as a success for South Korea would be simultaneously construed in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

as a threat to North Korea. Despite public endorsements by attending leaders, most commentators looking back on the summit have argued that only limited progress was made, especially on the headline issue of currency war and addressing trade imbalances. Leaders were generally unable to agree on key issues, with commentators such as economist

Eswar Prasad Eswar Shanker Prasad (born 1965) is an Indian-American economist. He is the Tolani Senior Professor of International Trade Policy at Cornell University and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, where he holds the New Century Chair in Econ ...

noting the absence of the sense of unity that had been present at summits during the worse of the global financial crisis of 2007–2009. IMF managing director

Dominique Strauss-Kahn Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn (; born 25 April 1949), also known as DSK, is a French economist and politician who served as the tenth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and was a member of the French Socialist P ...

said this particular summit was "more of a G20 debate than a G20 conclusion". Relating to the need to rebalance the world economy, agreement had been reached to work on indicative guidelines which will set suggested maximum limits for current account surpluses and deficits, though these are not due to be fleshed out until 2011. G20 leaders also agreed to endorse the

Seoul Development Consensus The Seoul Development Consensus for Shared Growth is a set of principles and guidelines set up to assist the G20 nations and other global actors in working collaboratively with less developed countries in order to boost their economic growth and t ...

, a set of guidelines and principles for working together with less development nations to improve economic growth and reduce poverty. In contrast to the older

Washington Consensus The Washington Consensus is a set of ten economic policy prescriptions considered to constitute the "standard" reform package promoted for crisis-wracked developing countries by Washington, D.C.-based institutions such as the International Mone ...

which it supersedes, the Seoul Consensus is less free market–orientated, allowing a larger role for state intervention.

References

External links

G20 Information CentreG-20 website of the OECD

Graphic: G20 is not simply the 20 largest economies

Official website

2010 Seoul G20 Tour

Report by the ''Club of Madrid'' focussing on the G20s role in the post-crises world

Supplementary annex doc G20 issued for the Seoul Development Consensus

{{DEFAULTSORT:G20 summit,2010

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2010 conferences 2010 in economics 2010 in South Korea Diplomatic conferences in South Korea 21st-century diplomatic conferences 2010s in Seoul November 2010 events in South Korea