coordination between national authorities, particularly in europe and in emu, is today more necessary than ever. responses based on the adoption of measures designed from an eminently national standpoint are, as in the past, bound to fail. the response to the current difficulties assailing our economies involves more monetary union and more european union. allow me to conclude by responding to the argument currently being aired in the press on the uneven impact of the crisis in different economies. as i have said, referring to the differentials observed in the past, this problem cannot be resolved by the ecb. it is for governments and national parliaments to adopt the structural reforms i mentioned earlier. indeed, the crisis should in fact be taken as an opportunity to carry out all these structural reforms. weak growth potential, competitiveness and productivity problems, the need to find an ideal level of regulation and government intervention, and insufficient goods and labour markets flexibility are, to name but a few, some of the challenges that remain central to the welfare of europeans and that should, therefore, continue to feature prominently on the political agenda. beyond the short term, these are the factors that determine the relative economic performance of the various euro area countries. national policies should work to increase the capacity of each national economy to adjust to adverse shocks and to promote productivity and the use of the different production factors. the longer the adoption of the necessary national policies is delayed, the greater the potential costs will be in the face of adverse events. as central bankers, it is for us to concentrate our efforts on maintaining price stability, providing the appropriate framework for sustained growth and increases in employment and welfare. but it is also for us to keep the economic authorities and social agents fully aware of the rules of play of a monetary union. clearly, this anniversary comes at a time of great complexity in the international economy, from which neither the euro area nor spain are isolated. the challenges are great and the uncertainty very high. but it would be unfair not to acknowledge that the course of the common project over these past ten years offers sound grounds to maintain a reasonable degree of optimism about our ability to face them. thank you.

choongsoo kim : new role of central bank and regional financial cooperation after the global crisis opening address by mr choongsoo kim, governor of the bank of korea, the 47th seacen governors ’ conference, high - level seminar and the 31st meeting of the seacen board of governors, seoul, 13 february 2012. * * * distinguished governors, ladies and gentlemen, i would like to express my gratitude to all my fellow central bank governors for taking part in the 47th seacen governors ’ conference, high - level seminar and the 31st meeting of the seacen board of governors. my special thanks go to 5 distinguished speakers, mr. pier carlo padoan, deputy secretary - general of oecd, mr. stephen p. groff, vice - president of the adb, professor charles engel from university of wisconsin, mr. hannoun from bis and mr. chia from imf who have come from afar to deliver the keynote addresses. it is a great honor and pleasure for us to be hosting the seacen governors ’ conference in seoul again after 13 years. though i stand before you today as the representative of the bank of korea, i bid you welcome on behalf of all the korean people. in the wake of the global financial crisis, emerging market countries recovered faster than the advanced countries. however, the increasing uncertainties surrounding the world economy since then still pose a threat to the asian economies. at this juncture, we should learn the lessons of the global financial crisis. this means setting the financial infrastructure right and establishing an effective policy response system in order to ward off further crises by speeding up global economic recovery. i think now is the time to change the policy stance and also strategies. global financial resources may have in recent years been directed toward financing of unsustainable financial deficits and debt - ridden countries, and little toward growth and job creation. i believe that redirecting of financial resources more toward growth, and more specifically toward countries with high productivity could yield substantial benefits to all in the long run. this is why i see a greater role for asia going forward. asia overcame the global financial crisis well, and has remained resilient to negative spillover from ongoing crisis in europe. moreover, many expect asia to develop even more into an engine of global economic growth. if we look at the outbreak and spread of the global financial crisis and the policies adopted in response, we can draw many precepts and pointers as to the role