Koo Yun-cheol Calls for Preemptive Review of Additional Measures to Prepare for Prolonged Middle East War During Ceasefire

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The Financial News reported that Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Finance and Economy Koo Yun-cheol held an expanded senior officials meeting on the 9th at Government Complex Sejong, attended by two vice ministers of the Ministry of Finance and Economy, directors-general, and key division heads. At the meeting, they reviewed the economic impact of the recent prolonged war in the Middle East and discussed future response strategies, while Koo stressed the need to push ahead with medium- to long-term structural reform tasks without delay.
Koo said, "As the war in the Middle East has continued for more than a month, its impact on our overall economy, including prices, supply chains, and foreign exchange and financial markets, is becoming increasingly visible." He added, "Although a two-week ceasefire has recently been agreed, the future course of events is hard to predict, so we must not let down our guard and should respond even more thoroughly."
In particular, Koo emphasized, "We must make full use of the ceasefire period to preemptively review additional measures in preparation for a prolonged war and swiftly identify on-the-ground difficulties so we can respond in a timely manner." He went on, "Relevant ministries need to respond as one team through active information sharing and close collaboration."
Koo also stated, "I ask for special efforts to ensure that the momentum for structural reform is not weakened in the course of crisis response," adding, "From the perspective of building an economic system that does not falter in any crisis, we must swiftly advance key tasks such as the National AI Transformation Initiative, realization of an Ultra-Innovative Economy, formulation of the K-GX Strategy, inclusion in the MSCI Developed Markets Index, creation of a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) and a Strategic Export Finance Fund, and measures to address polarization."
He then referred to the March rewards for the "Team Small but Certain Happiness" and "Small but Certain Happiness" initiatives, explaining, "We plan to provide exceptional incentives to innovative staff members through the newly introduced special performance awards, while recognizing the hard work of employees who have responsibly handled pending issues despite difficult circumstances."
Regarding the recently conducted AI Intensive Short-Term Training Program, Koo added, "The use of AI must become an opportunity to fundamentally transform how we work." He continued, "Apply what you learned actively to your day-to-day duties and spread it within your departments so that we can enhance the capabilities of the entire organization."
syj@fnnews.com Seo Young-jun Reporter