Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki attends a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters in Seoul, Friday. He is currently visiting the United States in the last overseas business trip of his term. Yonhap

Finance minister also plans to visit Singapore to discuss CPTPP

By Yi Whan-woo

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki will address Korea's efforts to reach global climate change goals and deal with the impact of the Ukraine crisis on his last overseas visit as the top economic policymaker of the world's 10th-largest economy.

Hong is traveling to the U.S. and later will fly to Singapore in a trip that on began Sunday, with less than a month remaining before the incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration takes power.

In addition to global issues, the finance minister will meet relevant representatives and address Korea's efforts toward financial soundness in relation to S&P's sovereign ratings, an investor-friendly financial market in relation to the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) index and dialogue in relation to becoming a new member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

In Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Hong will attend the meeting of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action inspired by the 2018 Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This meeting will be the first on his U.S. trip, which will last a week.

The coalition focuses on the role financial ministries have in mobilizing government finances to drive stronger collective action on climate change as the top economic policymakers of their respective countries. The coalition seeks to stimulate new opportunities for climate action ― potentially an estimated $26 trillion in investments and the creation of 65 million jobs around the world by 2030.