Regional Mediator: A New Role for South Korea

Abstract

This article aims at assessing the extent to which the G20 is empowering middlerange countries by analyzing the case of South Korea in the G20 process from an economics perspective. It examines South Korea’s ability to play the role of a regional mediator, particularly through its active role in hosting one of the post-GFC summits, and its role in helping to frame an “Asian consensus” around a number of key economic issues. This is done by initially analyzing South Korea’s relative economic weight and importance in the G20 (section 1). South Korea’s role within the ambit of the G20 is critically reviewed in section 2, whereas the final section focuses on the analysis of the Seoul Summit and Gyeongju Finance Ministers’ meeting in November 2010 and their potential consequences.