The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the “Global Forum on APEC 2025 Korea : Theme and Priorities” in collaboration with the APEC Studies Association of Korea in Seoul on Monday, September 30. At the event, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Insun delivered congratulatory remarks, followed by virtual congratulatory messages from Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do Lee Cheol-woo and Mayor of Gyeongju Joo Nak-young. Around 100 people from APEC member economies, the APEC Secretariat, international economic organizations, and academia attended the forum.

In her congratulatory remarks, Vice Minister Kang Insun emphasized that the Korea APEC 2025 Organizing Committee has been upgraded into an organization chaired by the Prime Minister and participated by ministers from all relevant government agencies. She added that this move will help strengthen government-wide cooperation for a successful 2025 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. Vice Minister Kang also stated that, as Deputy Head of the Preparatory Office for APEC 2025 which oversees the preparation efforts for the APEC event, she will continue to work to ensure the success of the event.

Following the Vice Minister’s remarks, Governor Lee Cheol-woo and Mayor Joo Nak-young delivered virtual congratulatory remarks on behalf of Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, the host city of the 2025 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. Governor Lee said it is a great honor to host the 2025 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Gyeongju, a city with rich historical and cultural heritage. Mayor Joo emphasized that Gyeongju represents rich Korean cultural heritage, as could be seen from its history as the capital of the millennial, ancient kingdom of Silla and its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. He went on to call Gyeongju a high-tech industrial city for the future. Furthermore, the Governor and the Mayor pledged that Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gyeongju will exert utmost concerted efforts to make next year’s APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting the most successful one yet.

Kim Hee-sang, Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs and Korea’s APEC Senior Official, said that the Korean government will soon finalize the theme and priorities which reflect APEC’s Putrajaya Vision 2040 and can lead international discussions at APEC 2025 on the basis of the Korean government’s statecraft philosophy. Deputy Minister Kim presented “Building a Sustainable Tomorrow : Connect, Innovate, Prosper” as the theme and a key concept that describes the Korean government’s direction.

The forum featured sessions on each of the three economic drivers of Putrajaya Vision 2040 – trade and investment, innovation and digitalisation, and sustainable and inclusive growth - the basis for the selection of the theme and priorities of the APEC 2025. The forum concluded with a discussion session on Korea’s theme and priorities that embrace all of the three sessions. Representatives from APEC member economies and the APEC Secretariat as well as experts from international economic organizations and academia participated in the sessions as speakers and panelists. They expressed support for the theme and priorities presented by Korea and offered suggestions and opinions regarding APEC’s key deliverables for the coming year.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will finalize the theme and priorities of the APEC 2025 after reviewing expert suggestions as well as other inputs from APEC member economies and related organizations put forward  at the forum. In December, Korea will host the APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting (ISOM) in Seoul, its first meeting as the chair of the APEC 2025. During the meeting, Korea will officially announce the theme and priorities as well as the key deliverables for the APEC 2025 to the representatives of APEC member economies.