President Lee Jae-myung, in opening remarks at a New Year's press conference held at the Blue House state guesthouse on the 21st, said, "If we become trapped in past formulas of success, we will fall into a vicious cycle like other countries caught in the trap of low growth," and emphasized, "We must completely change the paradigm of growth."
Lee proposed five paths of grand transformation: region-led growth; growth for all that shares opportunities and rewards broadly; sustainable growth based on safety; attractive growth driven by culture; and stable growth underpinned by peace.
Lee said, "The five paths of grand transformation are a shortcut that will lead Korea to a new future of great leap forward and a new model of growth and advancement to show the world," and emphasized, "We will reset the priorities of state affairs from one to ten, completely redeploy the government's resources and capabilities, and redraw Korea's growth map in an ambitious challenge."
On region-led growth, Lee said, "For each region to lead Korea's growth, it must be equipped with the appropriate 'scale,'" and added, "There will be no wavering in the direction of metropolitan integration according to political advantage or disadvantage." Lee said, "The core principle of providing stronger support the farther one is from the greater Seoul area will be implemented through all government policies."
"Growth for all" referenced the era of the startup and venture boom, and "sustainable growth based on safety" referred to policies to prevent industrial accidents, including adding 3,500 labor inspectors.
On "attractive growth driven by culture," Lee mentioned an increase in the culture budget. Lee said, "Although the culture budget has been greatly increased to 9.6 trillion won this year, it is still far from enough to say we are a 'cultural advanced nation,'" and added, "We will make support for and investment in culture a core growth strategy that cultivates future revenue sources and even elevates the national brand."
Regarding the last item, "stable growth underpinned by peace," Lee said, "As a 'pacemaker,' we will make every diplomatic effort so that U.S.-North Korea talks can be realized as early as possible, and we will create conditions for the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue."
Lee said, "To prevent accidental clashes between the two Koreas and build political and military trust, we will work to restore the Sept. 19 military agreement," and added, "We will consistently pursue feasible measures that elicit a response from the North and ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula."
Lee said, "The No. 1 governing principle of the popular sovereignty government is 'only the people's lives.' Our direction is realistic pragmatism free of ideology, factions, and political strife," and added, "We will resolutely correct rule-bending, privilege, and unfairness that harm people's lives, no matter how trivial they may seem."
He continued, "In the same vein, we will also push ahead with prosecutorial reform decisively," adding, "We will uphold the purpose of reform to the end and, following the people's will, craft the most responsible solutions to ensure reform leads to better lives for the people."