In Seoul, mayor offers tips on hosting G-20

Pittsburgh officials network with South Korean businesses

SEOUL, South Korea -- Pittsburgh's landscape of bridges provided an apt image for Mayor Luke Ravenstahl as he presented his city as an investment destination in a networking seminar for South Korean businesses.

"We are the City of Bridges. Let us in the future continue to build bridges, between the city of Pittsburgh and the city of Seoul," he said as he toasted the 62 business leaders who had gathered at a hotel at the venue of the upcoming G-20 summit.

Just one month before the South Korean capital -- itself a bridge-spanned city -- opens its doors to world leaders, Mr. Ravenstahl and the Pittsburgh delegation stopped here on the way home from Shanghai, China, to forge ties not only with Seoul's G-20 organizing committee, but also with potential investors based in Asia's fourth largest economy.

The delegation includes Dennis Yablonsky, CEO of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development; conference Vice President Suzi Pegg; the mayor's chief of staff Yarone Zober; David Kim, an attorney at the Pittsburgh law firm Goldstein & Associates; and Ken Yang, head of Pennsylvania's South Korea office and the group's local liaison.

"Pittsburgh has more bridges than any other city in the world, and we're here to try to create some bridges between Pittsburgh business and Korean business," said Mr. Yablonsky in his presentation to South Korean guests as he displayed a night view of Downtown Pittsburgh's riverfront.

Mr. Yablonsky sought to connect the two regions' main industries, highlighting advanced manufacturing, information and communication technology, health care and life sciences, financial and business services, and energy as key sectors for both.

But no matter who was speaking, the G-20 emerged as a salient point in selling Pittsburgh's economic success and bringing the two cities together.

"Because of Pittsburgh's opportunity to tell our story to the world [through the summit in September 2009], we've been able to be here in Seoul, and we were able to be in Shanghai to get the message out about Pittsburgh and our transformation," Mr. Ravenstahl said.

To answer Seoul's own concerns on hosting its Nov. 11-12 summit, the mayor on Wednesday met with the G-20 Seoul Summit Organization Committee, including Ambassador Sihyung Lee, the committee's head of protocol.

"We tried to form a partnership, between city government, county government, the business community and hospitality business, a public-private partnership" to hold a successful event, Mr. Ravenstahl said before the seminar.

Ambassador Lee, after meeting with the mayor, hoped to achieve a similar effect in Seoul.

"[Mr. Ravenstahl] brought really a great deal of opportunities after the summit. That is the biggest point to share with Korean people," he said.

"I've repeatedly told the Korean people through radio and TV, along with other people from the organizing committee, that this is a really good opportunity to show everything about Korea in an orderly manner."

But maintaining order may present a challenge in protest-prone Seoul, where union and civic activist groups plan to hold massive demonstrations against the G-20 in the days surrounding the summit.

In response, South Korea's National Police Service announced earlier this week a ban on all rallies and demonstrations within a two-kilometer (1.24-mile) radius of the summit venue. In addition, the city is set to mobilize an estimated 30,000 police officers and 20,000 riot police to provide security for visiting world leaders.

"We spoke a little bit with the ambassador about public safety," said Mr. Ravenstahl. "It sounds like their plans are shaping up in a good way for them, similar to what we did in Pittsburgh."

Mr. Ravenstahl also will meet with Seoul's mayor, Oh Se-hoon, this morning, to share more lessons learned during last year's summit.

As for the business side, Korean professionals already tied to Pittsburgh welcomed increased awareness of the city among their compatriots.

"Pittsburgh is still a relatively unknown city to most Koreans. Chan Ho Park is there, Hines Ward is there, but it's not like LA or New York," said Andrew Choe, a manager at Dongwon Enterprise, the South Korean company that acquired Pittsburgh-based Starkist Tuna in 2008. "But because of seminars like this, now people can know about Pittsburgh."

Jim Kwon, president of PPG Industries' Korea operations, agreed.

"Pittsburgh has been underestimated, and I think Korea didn't realize how strong the educational background (of the city) is," he said, praising Mr. Yablonsky's presentation. "We've got to be realistic about the areas that Korea is interested in -- joint technology, R&D and biotechnology," he added.

The message seemed to ring clear for Seoul as it prepares to take the spotlight after being overshadowed by neighbors like Tokyo and Beijing.

Mr. Ravenstahl, wrapping up his remarks, highlighted the positives in the build-up to the G-20 event.

"Have some fun," he said. "Showcase your city. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Seoul to be on the global stage."

First published on October 15, 2010 at 12:00 am