First month of Lee's presidency: economic policy and achievements

Rebooting the country's economy and restoring people's livelihoods have been the South Korean president's No.1 tasks during his first month in office.

We look back on the Lee administration's economic policies and what to look forward to in the months to come, with our economics correspondent Moon Ji-young.

Welcome, Ji-young.

Ji-young, President Lee couldn't stress enough how crucial reviving the country's economy is during the two-hour conference, could he?

As you mentioned, President Lee has described the current state of people's livelihoods as having "collapsed."

Lee,.. in his first administrative order, launched an emergency economic task force, aimed at making economic recovery the top priority.

To understand why such an emphasis is put on livelihood recovery,.. we can first look at key economic indicators, starting with inflation.

In June, consumer prices rose more than 2 percent year-on-year.

Notably, the primary drivers were increases in fuel and food prices, directly impacting the daily lives of ordinary citizens.

Secondly, the economic outlook.. paints a challenging picture.

For this, let's hear directly from an expert.

"Well, the growth rate this year is only expected to be 0.8% by the Bank of Korea, and a lot of international investment banks are predicting that it'll actually be worse. Some are predicting that the growth rate will only be 0.3%. The two main pillars of the Korean economy are exports and domestic consumption, and both seem to be down very much this year."

Household debt remains a substantial concern as well.

The scale of household loan growth, especially mortgage loans,.. is expanding.

This is intertwined with the real estate market situation, especially in the Seoul area, which recently saw huge price increases.

In response, the government announced new loan regulations, primarily targeting the Seoul area where all local lenders will be forced to sharply lower their household lending.

We also need to talk about the Lee government's supplementary budget, which is designed to reboot the local economy from consumption to investment.

Lee has repeatedly stated that the supplementary budget will create a multiplier effect in the economy.

The government is aiming to distribute financial support quickly to stimulate consumption and investment.

According to economic experts, this approach has specific goals and expectations:

"The government is hoping that the supplementary budget, which uh, originally plan to distribute about 20 trillion won, would pull the economy up by 0.2% points. Uh, that is perhaps not as efficient as government spending on SOC investment or direct government purchases. But right now, the government feels that that's the fastest way that we can pick up consumption and investment in the economy."

What was also echoed during today's press conference was President Lee's commitment to realizing the KOSPI 5000 era.

Tell us more.

President Lee aims to transform the "Korea Discount" into a "Korea Premium," setting a target for KOSPI at 5,000.

He envisions an investment-friendly environment where market funds flow into productive sectors, fostering a virtuous economic cycle and increasing national wealth.

The policy is expected to create a more robust capital market, driving industry growth and overall economic prosperity.

President Lee pledged to invest in future-oriented industries. Tell us why these investments are so crucial now.

Lee is committed to investing in advanced tech industries, including semiconductors and AI.

These are sectors already garnering significant attention

as core components for cutting-edge products and emerging industries even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, a chip shortage halted car production, and since then, many nations have focused on fostering chips for economic security and supply chain stability.

This crisis profoundly underscored the strategic importance of semiconductors.

Let's listen to what an expert says.

"As many countries aggressively pursue semiconductor development, competitive investment is surging. If we don't continue our investment, we risk falling behind, especially since nations like the U.S. and Japan are attracting foreign companies with direct subsidies."

Moreover, AI technology has emerged as a new innovation set. to completely transform our lives.

With South Korea yet to secure leading technologies in this field, it's crucial for the country to focus on it to avoid falling behind.

And Ji-young.

Our colleague Jung-min reported earlier, President Lee himself is well aware that tariff negotiations with the U.S. are hard to predict, didn't he?

Regarding tariffs, Lee said the government has made utmost efforts on tariff negotiations, but he can't say whether the talks could be concluded by July 8th, the deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump.

With these ongoing tariff talks, uncertainties surrounding the Korean economy still persist and will require close monitoring.

Indeed. Let us keep an eye out for if there'll be any last-minute tariff deal with the U.S.

Thanks for the wrap-up.