SEOUL– President Yoon Suk-yeol instructed all government ministries on Thursday to gear their efforts toward promoting industries and boosting exports to help overcome the economic crisis.
Yoon made the remarks as he presided over the 11th emergency economic and public livelihood meeting, which unlike previous editions was aired live on national TV to give the public a better sense of how the government is handling the economy amid high interest rates and high inflation.
“I would like all ministries to work with the mindset that we are all running together to promote our industries and boost exports,” he said during the meeting at the presidential office.
Specifically, Yoon said he would like the defense ministry to work as if it is the defense industry ministry, the agriculture ministry like the agricultural industry ministry and the land ministry like the construction and transportation industry ministry.
The 80-minute meeting was attended by all the economy-related ministers, as well as the defense minister, the national security adviser and presidential officials.
They took turns presenting policy proposals related to their respective fields, including the land ministry’s plan to remove additional regulations in the real estate market next month and the SMEs ministry’s plan to invest 2 trillion won (US$1.4 billion) in 10 chosen sectors, including mobility, bio and artificial intelligence, over the next five years.
Yoon weighed in throughout the discussion, calling for a comprehensive plan on stabilizing supply chains and emphasizing the close link between nuclear power plants, the defense industry and national security.
“I believe all ministries should work together with the industry and defense ministries in the lead so that we can successfully export our nuclear power plants and defense industry items as a package to the Middle East and Europe,” he said.
Yoon further called attention to the importance of giving tax breaks in order to attract more investment and improving the quality of digital education, such as in AI, at schools.
Source: Yonhap News Agency