G-7 action, not talk

All eyes are on Washington D.C., where the International Monetary Fund, finance ministers and heads of central banks have been meeting to bring the current financial crisis under control.

In particular, following the G-7 Finance Ministers Meeting, a G-20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 nations is being held to come up with alternatives and solutions for tackling the current crisis.

G-20 refers to the G-7 countries plus emerging market economies such as Korea, China, Brazil, Russia and India. We welcome the fact that the G-20 meeting is actively engaged in building an international cooperation system in an effort to resolve the global credit crisis, and expect that they will develop a concrete plan to accomplish that vision.

Under these circumstances, there is a need to take a closer look at the fact that some advanced nations such as the United States and European countries have not been coping with the crisis in an efficient manner due to conflicting political interests and a lack of cooperation among countries.

The United States has not resolved difficulties surrounding rescue financing, and the European Union has not reached agreement on devising countermeasures to the global financial crisis because of serious conflicts of interest among member countries.

This has caused the crisis to spread across the world, and the damage is unfairly being shifted to emerging market nations including Korea. Against this backdrop, the group of advanced countries is not contributing to the solution, and the G-20 nations are instead at the forefront of tackling the crisis.

G-20 members agreed on Oct. 11 that “all possible means will be mobilized to prevent and resolve the global financial crisis.” It is now the time to come up with concrete means and methods.

As Strategy and Finance Minister Kang Man-soo suggested, alternatives will include a measure to expand national currency swap operations to major emerging market economies, and Japan’s suggestion that the foreign currency reserves of countries with a trade surplus should be used as support funds in cases of emergency.

Active participation by developed nations, including the United States, is essential to the success of any international cooperation measures. The G-7 bears the biggest responsibility in this financial crisis, and should therefore play a pivotal role. The world is waiting.