SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (SK Group)

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who doubles as chair of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will preside over the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, the largest gathering of business leaders in the region which is to be held next year in Korea, the business lobby said Sunday, upon the launch of the preparatory committee of the upcoming event.

The APEC CEO Summit will be held on the sidelines of the annual APEC Summit, where 21 heads of state and some 1,000 businesspeople join.

Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, has recently been selected as the host city of the 2025 APEC Summit. The last APEC Summit hosted by Korea was two decades prior, in 2005 in Busan.

KCCI will act as the Korean branch of the APEC Business Advisory Council to oversee several business meetings and represent Korean businesses during the summit talks.

This year's APEC CEO Summit will be held on Nov. 14 and 15 in Peru. During the event, the SK chief will take over the leadership role from current Chairman Fernando Zavala. Other Korean participants include HS Hyosung Vice Chairman Cho Hyun-sang, Kolon Group Vice Chairman Lee Kyu-ho and Lee Joo-wan, CEO of MegazoneCloud.

“It is the first time in 20 years that Korea hosts the APEC Summit. For a successful event, KCCI will make full use of our global networking capabilities,” said Park Il-joon, KCCI vice chairman. “We will ramp up efforts to help the CEO Summit connect businesses, governments and member nations and draw tangible results for sustainable growth for all.”