President Yoon Suk Yeol called Wednesday for adjusting the country’s regulatory and labor systems to global standards, saying such adjustments are essential to ensure competitiveness in the world.
Yoon made the remark during a Cabinet meeting, days after returning from the United Arab Emirates, where he bagged a US$30 billion investment pledge, and from Switzerland, where he met with CEOs of multinational companies and asked them to invest in South Korea.
“In my meeting with the global CEOs, I stated the commitment of our government that is creating an environment where it feels safe to invest and asked for their active investment in South Korea,” the president said.
“What’s most important is that we adjust our country’s systems to global standards. If we don’t do that, we cannot survive in the international community. If we do not adjust our systems to global standards in regulations, labor and all such systems, no one will invest in our country, and it will become difficult for our businesses to compete in the international market,” he added.
Yoon instructed the government to swiftly implement follow-up measures in line with the UAE’s investment pledge.
He also reiterated his promise to work as the “No. 1 salesman of the Republic of Korea” and asked that each Cabinet member apply the same determination to their jobs.
The Republic of Korea is South Korea’s official name.
In his closing remarks, which were closed to the press, Yoon emphasized the importance of basing the government’s decisions and policies on science, according to senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eun-hye.
“Our country has been recognized by global nations and businesses and attracted their investment thanks to our science and technology and the system that supplies the talent to make that possible,” he was quoted as saying.
“In addition to promoting science and technology, it would be the government’s role to provide the system of rewards and opportunities that allow researchers to give their all to basic science and applied technology,” he added.
Yoon singled out the United States as an example of a country that should be emulated, saying the U.S. is where the world’s most talented people gather and compete and where a system is established to select only the best.
Source: Yonhap News Agency