By Isabel De Leon SEOUL - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad will lead the roster of speakers at the 20^TH World Knowledge Forum (WKF) here on Wednesday, September 25, and share his insights and experience regarding the future strategy of Asia. Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin/File Photo / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) With the theme: “Knowledge Revolution 5.0 - Perspicacity Towards Prosperity for All,” the WKF,  the largest business forum in Asia hosted by South Korea’s largest business media Maekyung Media Group, will be held on Sept. 25-27 at Jangchung Arena and the Shilla hotel in central Seoul with 250 renowned speakers from around the world. Mahathir will join through a video conference to speak on the need to upgrade the status of Asian countries and expand their role by strengthening their cohesion. He said Asia can fill the vacuum of global leadership caused by intensifying conflicts between the world’s top two economic powers. Jack Ma will unveil his know-how gained from raising Alibaba as Asia`s largest e-commerce company and talk about the role and vision of Asian enterprises through a real-time video stream. Wang Jia Rui, vice chairman of the 12th Chinese People`s Political Consultative Conference, who is a leading expert on North Korean affairs, will also propose ways to achieve peace and prosperity in Asia. This year’s forum will mark its 20th anniversary with a focus on practical methodologies for Asian prosperity beyond concerns caused by ongoing conflicts between the United States and China, and between Korea and Japan, and the planned Brexit. Marc Knapper, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Korea and Japan at the State Department`s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Randall Jones, Head of the Japan/Korea Desk at OECD will provide alternatives to resolve conflicts between Korea and Japan during a late-breaking session titled: How to Solve Korea-Japan Trade Row? Another key figure at the forum include Lee Soo-man, founder and executive producer of SM Entertainment Group, who is a global cultural figure and one of the moving forces behind K-Pop superstars. Lee will share his success story and propose a future strategy for the K-Pop industry. Face-off Conservative historian and Harvard professor Niall Ferguson and Peking University Professor Yifu Lin, former chief economist and senior vice president of World Bank, are expected to represent their countries in a debate on the trade hegemonic contest between the US and China during the forum. Others from the American team are former chief of staff to Trump, Reince Priebus, and David Urban, chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission who worked on the 2016 Trump presidential campaign. Edwin Feulner, Heritage Foundation founder, who is a policy mentor for Trump, will also join the podium. They are expected to have a heated discussion on next year’s presidential election in the US together with Bob Woodward, associate editor of the Washington Post, and author of "Fear: Trump in the White House." Hadi Partovi, founder, and CEO of Code.org, known as a father of online coding education in the US, Jay Lee, vice chairman of Foxconn, who leads the company’s transformation into an AI firm, and Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin will show the future of the most disruptive technologies. Beatriz Faro Morales, president of Pfizer International Developed Markets, the No. 1 pharmaceutical company in the world, will shed light on the future of human health and biotech industries. Timothy Draper, a legendary Silicon Valley investor and founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) will also share his insights on global technology trends.