The government will hold an overseas Korean economy investment relations (IR) meeting in February. Typically, such events are held incidentally when major finance ministers' meetings or international economic events take place at the beginning of the year, but this will be the first time it is held as a standalone event. The purpose is to quickly alleviate concerns about political uncertainty in the Korean economy and respond to the inauguration of the new U.S. administration.
According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the ministry plans to hold a Korean economy IR targeting overseas investors, major financial institutions, and the Trump administration.
The Korean economy IR is an event where the government explains Korea's economic situation, policy directions, and more to attract investment and enhance national credit ratings. The most recent IR was held in New York in October last year. Traditionally, IRs are not held at the end of the year or at the beginning of the year due to conflicts with the long vacation periods and schedules of employees from major credit rating agencies and financial institutions that are targeted.
Nevertheless, this year, concerns have grown due to the decline in Korea's external credibility resulting from the recent impeachment political situation and increased uncertainty with the inauguration of the Trump administration, leading to the decision to hold it at the beginning of the year.
A government official noted, "In the 1997 International Monetary Fund (IMF) crisis and the 2008 global financial crisis, we did not hold IRs at the beginning of the year. While previous IRs sought to attract the interest of financial institutions by emphasizing Korea's economic strengths, the current goal is to convey the message that 'there is hope for the Korean economy and we are addressing political uncertainty under the acting administration.'"
However, it is expected that the acting minister, Choi, who is the 'head of the economy,' will find it difficult to directly conduct this IR. Choi is reported to have expressed the intent to personally lead the IR this year during a ministerial conference on foreign affairs held in early December last year. Nevertheless, following the impeachment of the Prime Minister that same month, the unprecedented situation of the 'acting of the acting minister' has made it virtually impossible to manage overseas schedules.
Choi is currently handling four roles: acting president, acting prime minister, economic vice minister, and head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters. Since the tragedy involving a Jeju Air passenger plane, he has chaired the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meetings ten times and also monitors various economic issue meetings, such as the foreign economic issues meeting and macroeconomic and financial matters meeting (F4 meeting), directly every week.
The government is reviewing candidates to conduct the IR in place of Choi. The top candidates include Choi Jong-ku, the ambassador for international financial cooperation, and Choi Jung-kyung, the ambassador for international investment cooperation, while the second priority includes Bum Seok Austin Kim, the first vice minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. A government official stated, "It seems unlikely that Choi will be able to participate directly in the IR," adding, "We plan to coordinate the IR schedule with the candidate individuals in the future."