President Yoon Suk-yeol enters the venue of G-20 summit to attend a working session of the event at the Apurva Kempinski hotel in Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday. Yonhap

By Nam Hyun-woo

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol urged member nations of the Group of 20 (G-20) to stop excessive protectionism in the fields of food and energy security, in a speech at the summit in Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday.

According to the presidential office, Yoon attended the first working session of the G-20 Summit for leading rich and developing nations, where he spoke on "the importance of coalition and cooperation to respond to threats of global food and energy security."

During the closed-door session, Yoon cited his predecessor Lee Myung-bak's proposal during the 2008 G-20 Summit that member countries should make "a stand-still declaration on trade and investment restrictions," and urged member countries to "refrain from excessive protectionism in the fields of food and energy."

To this end, G-20 members should join forces to prevent any inappropriate export or production measures that could destabilize global food and energy prices, according to the presidential office.

Yoon continued, saying that the members should concentrate on establishing green and sustainable food and energy systems, so the entire world can participate in the green transition in food and energy.