South Korea will host the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, with a focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and demographic changes topics never before at the forefront of the regional economic forum's agenda. These issues will be key for discussion as APEC leaders gather to address pressing global challenges.
Yoon Seong-mee, chair of the 2025 APEC Senior Officials' Meeting, stressed the importance of prioritizing cooperation on AI technologies and responding to demographic shifts, such as aging populations and low birthrates. Yoon emphasized that these topics have never been discussed at APEC before, even though the forum has traditionally covered subjects like trade liberalization, labor, and education.
"The urgency of AI and demographic changes cannot be overstated", says Yoon at a news conference after the first Senior Officials' Meeting, which took place from February 24 to March 9 in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. The summit, which will run from late October to early November 2025, will be hosted in Gyeongju, marking South Korea’s first time hosting APEC in 20 years.
AI, according to Yoon, is relevant across all sectors and has a massive impact on the future of every country. He also highlighted that all APEC members will face the challenges of demographic changes, although they will experience them at different rates. These challenges include aging societies and lower birthrates, which will have long-term effects on the workforce and economy.
Yoon believes that introducing these significant global issues to the APEC discussion framework is a major contribution by South Korea as host, setting the stage for a new kind of dialogue at the summit. He noted that the first Senior Officials' Meeting marked the start of the APEC-related schedule leading up to the summit, with an opportunity to showcase Gyeongju to official delegations from APEC member countries.
The meeting drew around 2,000 participants, including representatives from 21 APEC members and the APEC Secretariat. Yoon and Lee Ji-yoon, a senior official from South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, held bilateral meetings with delegations to discuss the agenda.
Eduardo Pedrosa, executive director of the APEC Secretariat, reassured attendees that the summit would proceed smoothly despite potential concerns over political turbulence in South Korea. "APEC has held meetings under similarly changing political situations in the past", Pedrosa stated, adding that stakeholders are confident the summit will continue as planned.
Pedrosa also mentioned that one issue raised during the meeting was how to respond to the evolving global trade environment. However, when asked whether concerns about protectionism would be addressed at the summit, Pedrosa refrained from giving a direct answer, noting the complexities of the situation.
