President Lee: "Focus Government Capabilities on a Startup-Centered Nation... Review All Regulations from Scratch"

"Move Beyond the Focus on Conglomerates, the Seoul Metropolitan Area, and Experienced Workers... Lower Barriers and Provide Bold Support"
"Mobilize All Available Means to Block the Spread of Infectious Livestock Diseases"
"Preemptive Response to Prices Is Needed Ahead of the Lunar New Year Holiday"

On the 3rd, President Lee Jaemyung stressed that the government must concentrate all its capabilities on a major transition toward making startups the core of the national economy.

Yonhap News Agency

At a Cabinet meeting held at the Blue House that day, President Lee said, "In the age of artificial intelligence, a society that turns challenges and failures into the foundation of success can overcome crises and enjoy even greater opportunities for prosperity," adding, "Please focus the role of the government on a major transition toward a startup-centered nation where anyone can easily take on the challenge of starting a business and succeed."

President Lee also referred to the recent increase in exports and other positive trends, and urged, "For improvements in economic indicators to transform people's lives and lead to changes they can truly feel, we need strategies that go beyond the traditional system centered on large conglomerates, the Seoul metropolitan area, and experienced workers."

He went on to say, "As the great transition to artificial intelligence (AI) accelerates, economic gains will inevitably become even more concentrated in the hands of a few, and the number of jobs will structurally decline," adding, "We must completely transform the structure of our economy so that more citizens can freely take on challenges and knock on the door of innovation, thereby deepening and broadening our growth."

To this end, he called for a fundamental overhaul of all regulations related to startups. President Lee said, "We need to lower the barriers to starting a business so that anyone with an idea can launch a startup, and we must provide bold institutional innovation and financial support," asking officials to review all startup-related regulations from a zero-based perspective.

He also ordered that all available means be mobilized to prevent the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza and other diseases. President Lee said, "Highly pathogenic avian influenza and African swine fever continue to occur, and last weekend foot-and-mouth disease broke out at a farm in Incheon," instructing officials to use every possible measure to block the spread of infectious livestock diseases.

He emphasized the need to take care of compensation for farms and the safety of quarantine officials. President Lee said, "Please make sure that the damage suffered by farms that actively cooperated with the government's quarantine measures does not expand, including by providing appropriate compensation," adding, "Pay close attention to the safety of quarantine officials working hard in the field and ensure that their efforts are properly rewarded."

Yonhap News Agency

In addition, with the Lunar New Year holiday just ahead, he called for every effort to be made to stabilize prices. President Lee ordered, "Swiftly implement active and preemptive measures to curb the cost of living, including expanding the supply of major holiday-season products and strengthening discount support for agricultural and livestock products."

Meanwhile, ahead of the expansion of the "Just Give Project," which provides free food and daily necessities to disadvantaged groups, he instructed officials to quickly address any shortcomings and actively consider expanding the number of project sites. President Lee said, "At first, there were concerns that people might show up in a Benz and walk away with food and daily necessities, but after implementation, such cases have reportedly been very hard to find," adding, "Please spread the word so that people in your communities can make use of these facilities and policies."

He continued, "There was even a case where an elderly woman felt she had received too much food and brought some of it back. This is how warm-hearted the Republic of Korea is," he added.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.