President Lee Myung-bak will travel to Hawaii this weekend to discuss ways to spur the global economy, create jobs and reform regulations with other leaders of major Pacific Rim economies, the presidential office announced Thursday,

The summit of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, set for Sunday, comes as the world economy struggles to stave off the negative impact of the eurozone debt crisis that has battered Greece and shows signs of spreading.

Lee, who will leave for Hawaii on Saturday, plans to call for greater international policy coordination to overcome low growth rates and high unemployment, while stressing that growth and job creation should be sought through technological innovation, not protectionism, his office said in a statement.

Lee plans to lead a session on deregulation with a speech in which he plans to present successful regulatory reform cases in South Korea. Officials said the host United States requested that Lee speak during the session. (Yonhap News)