South Korean President Lee says that G-20's main goal is job creation

South Korean President Lee says that G-20's main goal is job creation

2010-11-11 00:04:22 GMT+7 (ICT)

SEOUL (BNO NEWS) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday said that the main goal of the G-20 summit is job creation and poor working conditions.

President Lee met with a high-profile labor delegation on the eve of the opening of the G-20 Seoul Summit. Some international labor organization previously voiced their concern that the G-20 may overlook the chronic problem of unemployment and poor workings conditions.

"President Lee said the primary goal of the G-20 is job creation and sustainable and balanced growth of the world economy the second," Lee's spokeswoman Kim Hee-jung said. "A global economic recovery should be first linked with employment."

The labor delegation was led by Sharan Burrow, Secretary General of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) which represents around 176 million workers in more than 150 countries.

The delegation also included John Evans, Secretary General of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD and the leaders of the local Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions.

President Lee also told the leaders of South Korea’s two largest umbrella labor groups that he expected them to join him on his foreign trips for economic diplomacy so that foreign investors will trust South Korea more and thus expanding investment.

The labor leaders called for the Seoul summit to take decisive action to address the continuing global employment crisis and escalating poverty levels. They remarked that over 220 million people worldwide are currently unemployed and around 15 percent of them lost their jobs since 2007. In addition, approximately 100 million people were pushed into absolute poverty by the latest global economic crisis.

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