The economic circumstances for the Seoul G20 Leaders’ Summit were ongoing economic challenges, particularly uneven growth and widening imbalances. In this context, the leaders agreed to the G20 Seoul Summit Leaders’ Declaration, in which the G20 renewed their commitment to continue its coordinated efforts and act together to generate strong, sustainable and balanced growth. Central to this was the Seoul Action Plan, containing policies relating to monetary and exchange rate policies, trade and development policies, fiscal policies, financial reforms, and structural reforms. Like in previous declarations, much of the focus was on economic and financial issues, particularly reform of international financial institutions; strengthening global financial safety nets; financial sector reforms; transforming the financial system to address the root causes of the global financial crisis; implementing reforms and international assessment, including peer review; and fighting protectionism and promoting trade and investment.

However, the Seoul Summit was slightly different to previous summits because a number of non-financial and economic issues began to appear on the agenda. The Seoul declaration included commitments to the following: the Seoul development consensus for shared growth; financial inclusion; energy, with a focus on fossil fuel subsidies, fossil fuel price volatility, global marine environment protection, climate change and green growth; anti-corruption; the Seoul G20 Business Summit; and the importance of wide consultation.