President Lee: “Housing, jobs and finance are this year’s top national policy priorities” a day before the government’s 500th day

[Financial News] On the 15th, a day before the People’s Sovereignty Government marked 500 days since its launch, President Lee Jae-myung stressed that the government must focus its capabilities on the three key areas affecting people’s livelihoods—housing, jobs and finance—and deliver policy results that people can feel. In particular, with new Presidential Chief of Staff Lim Kwang-hyun attending the Senior Presidential Aides Meeting for the first time since taking office, Lee urged the administration to accelerate the recovery in people’s livelihoods, with the second-term Cheong Wa Dae staff at the center of the effort.
At the Senior Presidential Aides Meeting he chaired that day at the main building of Cheong Wa Dae, Lee said, “Tomorrow marks the 500th day since our People’s Sovereignty Government took office. Our Republic of Korea stands at a crossroads of a great transformation,” adding, “We must focus the government’s capabilities on housing, jobs and finance, which can be considered the foundation of people’s livelihoods.” He went on to stress, “For the rest of this year, Cheong Wa Dae and the government should make these three core social policy areas their top national priorities and do everything possible to advance projects in each area.”
Chief of Staff Lim, attending the Senior Presidential Aides Meeting for the first time that day, said, “I feel a heavy sense of responsibility for taking on this important role,” and affirmed, “I will support the President so that people’s lives can improve and devote all my efforts to delivering results for their livelihoods.”
At the Senior Presidential Aides Meeting that day, Lee said the gap between the economy’s overall performance and the recovery in people’s livelihoods as they experience it must be narrowed. He said, “Our economy is currently achieving remarkable results in many areas. If the current trend continues, South Korea is likely to become the sixth country in the world this year to surpass $40,000 in national income per capita among countries with populations of 50 million or more.” However, he noted, “Despite the strong performance of key indicators, the recovery in people’s livelihoods is slower than people expect.”
He continued, “People do not feel that the difficulties of daily life have improved significantly either. This is the time to make an all-out effort to ensure that the performance of the national economy as a whole leads to tangible results in the lives of individuals,” adding, “We should speed up housing supply to meet actual demand at each stage of life and swiftly roll out the National Jobs Project, which encompasses ways to create jobs in both the private and public sectors.” He also urged, “Please pay special attention to supplying policy funds, supporting interest rate reductions and providing tailored debt restructuring, so people can navigate the waves of rising interest rates wisely.”
Lee also called for a strong response to the recent spate of relationship-related crimes and indiscriminate knife rampages. He said, “We must promptly devise extraordinary measures against violent crime, with the resolve to declare war on it.” In particular, he instructed, “In particular, we should set up something like a government-wide joint response body dedicated to this and carefully examine where existing measures may have had gaps.”
Meanwhile, a day before the 47th anniversary of the Buma Democratic Uprising, Lee also raised the need to include the spirit of the Buma Democratic Uprising and the May 18 Democratization Movement in the preamble to the Constitution. He said, “There is unanimous agreement, regardless of whether one belongs to the ruling or opposition parties, that the May 18 Democratization Movement and the Buma Democratic Uprising should be enshrined in the preamble to the Constitution,” and urged, “Now is the time to put this into practice, not just talk about it.”
[email protected] Choi Jong-geun, Seong Seok-woo Reporter