[SEOUL G20 BUSINESS SUMMIT]120 Global CEOs to Thrash out Big Issues on Sidelines of G20

The official schedule of the B20, the business summit taking place alongside the Seoul G20 Leaders Summit, got underway at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel Wednesday.

A welcome reception and dinner was attended by over 110 CEOs, Chairman of the Presidential Committee for the G20 Seoul Summit Sakong Il, Minister of Knowledge Economy Choi Kyung-hwan, foreign ambassadors to Korea, and around 350 heads of economic organizations from home and abroad.

It is the largest gathering of global executives ever held in Korea. It is also the biggest ever B20.

On the sidelines of the London G20 summit, 20 economic leaders attended; in Toronto, 40 chief executives gathered; in Seoul, 120 global chief executives and heads of economic organisations are expected to attend.

The over-arching theme of the summit is “The Role of Business for Sustainable and Balanced Growth.” Discussions will take place on four main agenda topics: trade and investment; finance; green growth; and corporate social responsibility.

Participating CEOs began arriving on November 8; by November 10, over 110 of the 120 participants had registered.

Considering the difficulty of bringing together even 10 global CEOs in a single venue, the sight of over 100, representing many of the world’s top firms,was impressive. The captains of industry wished for the success of the Seoul G20 Business Summit as they enjoyed a welcome dinner.

The dinner was a banquet of global power players, some who rarely make public appearances, gathered in a friendly atmosphere. Though many are fierce competitors, they appeared more like partners and colleagues as they openly discussed developments in the global economy.

The photo zone installed in front of the dinner hall, equipped with cutting-edge IT devices offering on-the-spot photo printing services, received a positive response from the participants. The media wall, combining.

Korea’s Biggest-ever Business Gathering Kicks off

a Korean-style background with advanced IT, and a large size PDP television displaying caricatures of 120 participating business leaders, were designed to show off the nation’s high tech savvy.

A Glittering Ensemble

The dining hall was crowded with not only CEOs but also their spouses and entourages. Foreign diplomats residing in Korea as well as officials from Korean embassies overseas were prominent attendees. A heavy turnout of Korean government officials and members of economic circles rounded out the diners.

The Ultimate Networking Opportunity Animated conversations are underway among global CEOs just prior to the dinner for 110 international business leaders. Photo: Joint Press Corps

Sakong Il, the chairman of the presidential summit committee, delivered a welcoming address, expressing appreciation to the global CEOs for attending the event.

In return, RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie, representing IT companies of the Americas, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) President Jiang Jianqing, representing Asian companies, and Anglo American Chief Medical Officer Brian Brink, representing the summit conveners, all made formal replies to the welcoming address.

A 5-course fusion-style Korean dinner was served. Muslim and vegetarian menus were also provided.

Ahead of the banquet, a “green tie ceremony” was held. Commissioner Oh Young-ho and his staff of the Seoul G20 business summit organizing committee,wore green ties to the reception held prior to the banquet, showing their commitment to a “green” summit; green growth is one of the key agenda items.

Chairmen Chat At the welcome dinner, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group Chung Mong-koo (second from right) and Chairman and CEO of SK Group Chey Tae-won (second from left) exchange greetings with foreign business leaders. Photo: Joint Press Corps

The attendees will start their day on the 11th with an opening ceremony officiated over by President Lee Myung-bak. Round table meetings will then be held.

Conveners who prepared the preliminary reports of the 12 subco-mmittees, working on the four main agenda items, were busy engaging in informal meetings and interviews. Members of the green growth sub-committee, led by Chief Executive Ditlev Engel of Vesgas, the world’s largest wind energy company, held an unofficial breakfast meeting on the 10th to make sure that their preliminary report, unveiled on the 9th, will reverberate at the G20 summit.

Networking Frenzy

On the sidelines of the official program, chief executives were busily scheduling business meetings. Chairman Dinh La Thang of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group said his company will sign memoranda of understanding with eight Korean bodies including trade agency KOTRA and energy conglomerate SK. The MOUs relate to US$25.5 billion worth of petroleum and construction projects.

Art and Seoul The caricatures of all chief executives participating at the B20 summit on display at the Walkerhill Hotel. The caricatures, by The Dong-A Ilbo’s in-house artist Choi Nam-jin, appeared on four 55-inch television terminals. The pictures shown are of Laurence Parisot, president of MEDEF (left) and Rajeev Singh-Molares, executive vice president of Alcatel-Lucent. The organizing committee plans to load the pictures onto Samsung Electronics＇ Galaxy Tab smartphones and give them as gifts to participating chief executives.Photo: Park young-dae

Fourteen Korean chief executives attended the dinner event, including Chung Mong-koo, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, Chey Tae-won, chairman. and CEO of SK Group, and Koo Bon-moo, chairman of LG Group. Lee Kun-hee, chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics was on an overseas business trip, but is expected to join the summit at the November 11 plenary session.

Korean business heads are taking advantage of the unprecedented networking opportunity to schedule meetings with their international counterparts on home turf.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won plans to meet Deutsche Bank Chairman Josef Ackermann on the 12th while SK Telecom Chief Executive Jung Man-won expectss to meet Chief Executive Jim Balsillie of Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry smartphones.

Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho plans to meet Marwan Lahoud, chief strategy and marketing officer of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., and discuss ways to increase joint research and development as well as the supply of more airplane parts to EADS. Korean Air, Hanjin’s airline arm, has previously agreed to purchase ten A380 planes from Airbus, the aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS.

Waiting for the Big Boys A day prior to the G20 Leaders Summit, security is watertight around the Coex building, the meeting venue. Journalists pass through the deserted area. Photo: Lee Hoon-koo

Meanwhile, Posco Chief Executive Chung Joon-yang plans to meet with the heads of energy companies including Rio Tinto, Mechel, Severstal, Alstom and Vestas. Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn plans to meet with Alstom Chairman Patrick Kron.

Security Tight at Venue

Security escalated at the Walkerhill Hotel, the venue of the business summit, as the black limousines of influential businesspersons glided in, one after another.

Body scanners were placed in front of all conference rooms, banquet halls and the media center. The government plans to deploy 1,800 policemen around the hotel on the 10th and the 11th.

Staff at the Walkerhill Hotel and the nearby W Hotel, where almost everyone participating at the business summit will stay,have been frantically busy preparing for the event.

The Walkerhill Hotel has organized a VIP service team and staff wearing traditional dresses have been assigned to each chief executive to provide individual service, starting at the check-in desk.

The Sheraton Walkerhill Hotel is named in honor of U.S. General Walton Walker, killed during the Korean War in 1950. The hotel, set on a hill on the eastern edge of the city, is renowned for its fine views of the Han River. And should any CEOs find themselves with free time and money... the casino beckons.

By Kim Hee-kyun
foryou@donga.com

The Dong-a Daily (literally, “The East Asia Daily”) has been Korea’s leading newspaper since 1920 with a daily circulation of more than 1.5 million, and includes key opinion leaders among its readers.

The Dong-a Daily is the parent company of the Dong-a Media Group (DAMG), which is composed of 12 affiliates including Sports Dong-a, Dong-a Science, DUNET, and dongA.com. Now the DAMG is working to become a comprehensive global media group with the addition of a broadcasting arm. The Dong-a Daily has partnered with internationally renowned media companies such as The New York Times, The Asahi Shimbun of Japan and People’s Daily of China. It also publishes global editions in 90 cities worldwide. Under its motto, “A better future of the next generation”, the Dong-a Daily has been concentrating on delivering valuable information to its readers for the past 90 years.