President Moon Jae-in on the morning of Nov. 9 chairs an online Cabinet meeting at the videoconference room of Cheong Wa Dae. (Cheong Wa Dae's official Facebook page) 

By Xu Aiying and Kim Hayeon

President Moon Jae-in on Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. will virtually attend the 28th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting.  

Cheong Wa Dae Spokesperson Park Kyung-mee on Nov. 9 told a briefing that the summit's theme is "Recovering from COVID-19 to Build Prosperity for All Our People and Future Generations," and that APEC heads of state will discuss overcoming the health crisis, accelerating economic recovery, seeking cooperation in climate and the environment, and finding ways for sustainable growth.

President Moon at the summit will introduce Korea's contributions to combating COVID-19, including donating vaccines and providing free medical aid. He will also continue in-depth talks on focusing on maintaining global supply chains and discussing digital transformation to accelerate economic recovery.

He will stress the importance of economic assistance for groups that have grown more vulnerable due to COVID-19 and present Korea's effort to strengthen the social safety net as part of the Korean New Deal as a benchmark for inclusive economic recovery.

After the summit, APEC leaders will adopt the Putrajaya Vision 2040, which contains the group's cooperation plans for the next 20 years. 

Meanwhile, President Moon on Nov. 21 from 7:10 p.m. will hold a 100-minute town hall meeting to be broadcast live on KBS TV.

This will be his first appearance on a TV talk show on his policies in two years, his first being on Nov. 19, 2019.

To cover quarantine and jobs related to overcoming the COVID-19 crisis, the program will be held in a town hall format to allow the president to directly hear the people's opinions and communicate with them. 

An audience of 300 people to be selected based on age, gender and location will participate in the show both online and offline. The KBS website will also accept additional questions from the public for the president.

xuaiy@korea.kr