Finance Minister Koo to Visit Europe for G7 Meeting, Investment Drive

SEOUL, May 17 (Yonhap) -- Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol will visit Europe to attend the Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers' meeting and to encourage investment in South Korea, his office said Sunday.

Koo will first depart for London on Monday to host an investment briefing session for major global investment institutions focused on the South Korean economy, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said.

He will outline South Korea's global economic competitiveness, capital market reforms, and policy direction for building a hyper-innovative economy, while emphasizing active investment in the country.

On Tuesday (local time), he will attend the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors' meeting in Paris.

The meeting will bring together finance ministers and central bank governors from G7 member countries as well as invited nations, including South Korea, India, Brazil and Kenya.

Representatives from major international organizations, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), are also expected to attend.

Discussions will focus on addressing global imbalances, including large current account surpluses in some countries that contribute to deficits in others, and on building mutually beneficial international partnerships.

Koo is expected to highlight in his remarks that complex global crises, prolonged by conflicts in the Middle East, cannot be resolved by any single country alone.

He is also expected to present views on key global economic issues from South Korea's position as a bridge between advanced and emerging economies.