On the 4th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon met with former President Lee Myung-bak at the Cheonggye Foundation in Seocho District, Seoul. Mayor Oh reportedly sought advice from the former president on measures for the growth of the South Korean economy.
According to the Seoul city, the former president mentioned Mayor Oh's forthcoming book "Again, Growth." The former president said, "You've captured the agenda well," and noted, "What is most needed at this point is growth." He added, "As we move past the digital age into the artificial intelligence (AI) era, politics remains in the analog age," and emphasized that "to achieve growth, regulatory reform must be carried out, and politics must do that."
Mayor Oh stated, "Startups must overcome several obstacles on their way to becoming unicorns (startups valued at over 1 trillion won) and corporations, and removing those barriers is the reason for the government's existence." The former president responded, "That must be done."
Earlier, Mayor Oh attended the "Corporation-Centric Growth-Oriented Regulatory Reform Forum" hosted by the Seoul city. He unveiled an economic initiative titled "Korea Growth Again" (KOGA), which he stated was inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump's policy slogan, "Make America Great Again" (MAGA).
At the forum, Mayor Oh asserted the need to foster industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and biotechnology to achieve an economic growth rate of 5%. He also mentioned the necessity of tax, labor, and regulatory reforms. Mayor Oh emphasized that "the government must dismantle regulations that hinder corporate growth."