Chey Tae-won appointed as chair of APEC CEO Summit

Chey Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and SK Group (photo), who will serve as the chair of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit to be held in Gyeongju, Korea, in October next year, officially assumed the position from this year’s chair. Introducing Gyeongju to global CEOs, Chey said, “The serene landscapes and profound historical backdrop of Gyeongju will inspire innovation.”

According to the KCCI on Sunday, Chey officially assumed the role during the 2024 APEC CEO Summit held at the National Grand Theater in Lima, Peru, on Saturday. Fernando Zavala, the chair of this year’s summit in Peru, symbolically passed the chairmanship to Chey by handing him a ceremonial gavel crafted from wood and silver, modeled after a traditional staff used by Peruvian Indigenous leaders. The summit was attended by around 1,000 participants, including Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, and other leaders and global CEOs from APEC member economies.

In his acceptance speech, Chey announced that the theme of next year’s summit will be “BBB.” “The private sector’s technologies and insights will serve as a bridge connecting diverse societies, business will drive innovation, and we will work together to move beyond toward a better future,” he said. He also highlighted a memorable analogy: "If you write ‘bbb’ in lowercase, it resembles a thumbs-up gesture. Please remember this ‘Triple Thumbs-Up.’”

The 2025 APEC CEO Summit is set to take place in Gyeongju next October. The KCCI, serving as the Korean secretariat for APEC, launched a task force for the summit last month to begin full-scale preparations.


홍석호 will@donga.com