INCHEON, Oct 22 — Finance chiefs from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies discussed directions for structural reform today, in response to a rapidly changing global environment driven by advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and demographic shifts.
Yonhap News Agency reported the South Korean Finance Ministry as saying that the discussion took place during a joint session on the second day of the APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting, held in the western port city of Incheon.
Finance ministers or minister-level officials from the 21 APEC member nations gathered here from Tuesday for the three-day conference under the theme 'Building a Sustainable Tomorrow' ahead of the official APEC summit.
Today's session was part of the APEC Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting, held jointly with the finance ministers’ meeting for the first time. The structural reform meeting also marked its first in-person session in 10 years and its first overall since 2021.
During the session, participating officials explored strategies for structural reform to address the challenges posed by increased global uncertainty, technological advances in sectors like artificial intelligence (AI) and demographic transformation.
“In an era of major global transition, marked by slow economic growth, rapid technological development and demographic shifts, the role of structural reform is more important than ever,” said South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol.
Earlier in the day, in his opening remarks, Koo outlined his vision to promote prosperity across APEC member economies through innovation centred on AI.
“Through today’s joint session, I look forward to exchanging views on policy directions and exploring APEC’s cooperative pathways for AI and digital transformation. Together, we can harness AI innovation to drive prosperity across APEC," he said.
Koo is also optimistic that next year’s APEC Economic Policy Report will offer concrete directions for cooperation aimed at building a secure AI ecosystem and narrowing the digital divide.
The report is the APEC Economic Committee’s flagship annual publication, analysing structural reforms across APEC economies. The 2026 edition is titled 'Structural Reform and AI-Driven Digital Transformation'.
He further outlined his belief that AI is the only breakthrough for the South Korean economy, saying that Seoul “is pursuing a comprehensive AI transformation across the private sector, the public sector and all citizens.”
The plan is part of the Lee Jae-myung administration’s five-year economic development blueprint, unveiled earlier this year, which emphasises integrating AI across the private and public sectors to build what it describes as a "super-innovation economy".
“According to a recent domestic study, AI adoption could increase (South) Korea’s productivity by 1.1 to 3.2 per cent and its gross domestic product by 4.2 to 12.6 per cent, which could help significantly offset the impact of demographic headwinds on economic growth,” Koo said.
This week’s meeting is the final ministerial session before the APEC summit scheduled for October 31 to November 1 in Gyeongju, the country’s southeast.
