February 2023

This year¡¯s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland urged governments and the private sector to ¡°be pragmatic, collaborate¡± and ¡°keep the global economy integrated for the benefit of all of us.¡±

We all know that all challenges facing the world today, including inflation, the instability of global supply chains, the war in Ukraine and the pandemic, are intertwined and together are already triggering worsening situations for the world economy and safety. These challenges cannot be handled effectively unless the world works together and executes collective action.

However, geopolitical conflicts, the rivalry for technological hegemony and the weakening multilateral trade system are diminishing space for cooperation. Such intensifying competition has led to fragmentation of supply chains, trade protectionism and the securitization of emerging technologies. World leaders in the Davos forum agreed that this cannot be the right answer.

Answer Lies in ¡®Solidarity¡¯

There was common acknowledgement in Davos that nothing¡ªwhether it be normalizing supply chains or addressing other issues like climate change and war¡ªcould be achieved without a firm spirit of solidarity and cooperation. The leaders shared the sentiment that even in the current global economic landscape marked by fragmentation and protectionism, the free trade system based on multilateralism remains the way to go.

Speaking at the forum, the Korean president called for ¡°stronger solidarity and solidarity in action¡± to overcome the current crisis and achieve sustainable prosperity. Yoon appealed to his fellow leaders to work together and avoid a global fragmentation into rival blocs that could play havoc with supply chains. To this end, the president emphasized the need of not only B2B (business to business) cooperation, but also of G2G (government to government) or G2B in an urgent manner.

Yoon¡¯s vision of Korea as a ¡°global pivotal state¡± was furthered as well, when he pledged that the nation would play a ¡°key partner¡± in the global supply chain, using its ¡°world¡¯s top-notch production technologies and manufacturing capabilities in semiconductor, rechargeable batteries, steelmaking and biotechnology.¡±

For stable energy security, another big challenge facing the world, Yoon called the world to reduce reliance on fossil fuels via nuclear power and clean hydrogen. Along this line, the president is confident that Korea, a country armed with world-class technological prowess in the nuclear power sector and hydrogen utilization, can play a crucial role in making the world greener.

¡°Korea is willing to work with nations that need to tap into nuclear power technology to achieve their carbon neutrality goals¡¦ I hope that the international community can closely communication with each other to design the clean hydrogen certification scheme.¡±

Korea¡¯s No. 1 Salesperson

Meanwhile, as he did in his earlier UAE trip, Yoon used the global stage to attract foreign companies¡¯ investments and partnerships with Korean companies by having a series of meetings with business leaders on the sidelines.

His aggressive sales pitches brought tangible outcomes. Vestas, a leading Danish wind turbine manufacturer, announced it would invest USD 300 million in Korea to establish a large-scale manufacturing plant to produce key equipment and parts for wind turbines. Germany¡¯s Merck Life Science and Switzerland-based Novartis also expressed their interest in potential investment in Korea worth USD 500 million combined.

Speaking to the most powerful CEOs, the president said, ¡°The Korean market is open and so is my office, so please visit any time.¡±

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