President Lee Calls for an "Extraordinary Sense of Resolve" as Cheong Wa Dae Keeps Middle East Situation Under Constant Review

[The Financial News] As President Lee Jae-myung has called for preemptive response measures to the Middle East situation "with an extraordinary sense of resolve," Cheong Wa Dae is operating an emergency response system to deal with developments in the region.
According to political sources on the 11th, Cheong Wa Dae is reviewing Middle East–related developments every day at a daily current-affairs meeting chaired by Chief of Staff to the President of the Republic of Korea Kang Hoon-sik. Each office within Cheong Wa Dae reports and discusses the issues it has examined regarding the Middle East situation. When necessary, ad hoc meetings are also convened to reassess conditions.
For example, the Office of National Security (ONS) is monitoring trends in the Middle East, while the Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Growth is tracking global movements in oil, gas, and other energy markets. They are said to be drawing up response measures by comparing the current situation with past crises.

President Lee is also placing the Middle East situation at the top of the agenda in key meetings and is repeatedly calling for preemptive response plans. On the 9th, he convened an Emergency Economic Review Meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on the Middle East situation and stressed, "Because it is difficult to predict how events will unfold, the government must prepare preemptive response measures with an extraordinary sense of resolve, keeping even the worst-case scenario in mind."
At the State Council of South Korea meeting on the 10th, President Lee also said that an early supplementary budget would be needed to respond to the economic impact of instability in the Middle East. He instructed officials to swiftly implement additional financial and fiscal support, including execution of the oil price cap system, adjustments to energy taxes, and direct support to consumers. He further ordered a review of differentiated support measures so that the benefits would reach low-income households.
At the senior secretaries' meeting to be chaired by President Lee at Cheong Wa Dae on the 12th, the Middle East situation is also expected to be a key agenda item.
cjk@fnnews.com Choi Jong-geun and Sung Seok-woo Reporter