Prime Minister Chung: "Next Year Must Achieve a V-Shaped Recovery... It Is the Critical Moment for Proactive Administration"

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun (center) and new administrative officers are taking a commemorative photo after sharing their thoughts on proactive administration on the 21st of last month.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun met with rookie administrative officers and urged proactive administration to overcome the COVID-19 crisis next year.

The Prime Minister's Office announced on the 18th that on the 21st of last month, Prime Minister Chung met with four first- and second-year administrative officers at the Prime Minister's office in the Government Sejong Complex for a discussion on proactive administration.

The rookie officers listened to an explanation of Prime Minister Chung's philosophy of proactive administration, known as the so-called 'Dish Theory,' and shared their opinions.

The Dish Theory means "It is okay to break a dish while working, but dust must not accumulate on the dish due to not working." This metaphor was introduced by Prime Minister Chung in 2006 when he was Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy to emphasize the importance of proactive administration.

Prime Minister Chung cited the establishment of residential treatment centers and the exceptional immigration support system for businesspeople as the most memorable cases of proactive administration this year.

Regarding residential treatment centers, Prime Minister Chung said, "Suddenly, the number of confirmed cases increased, and there was a shortage of hospital beds. So, we created residential treatment centers, utilizing facilities owned by the government and public institutions, and I personally contacted the private sector to enable the operation of residential treatment centers."

About the exceptional immigration support for businesspeople, he explained, "Businesspeople need freedom of entry and exit to conduct business properly overseas, but COVID-19 caused many restrictions. Despite these measures, the government actively stepped in to allow businesspeople to enter and exit, even establishing institutional arrangements to facilitate their movement."

Prime Minister Chung emphasized, "Next year must be an opportunity to overcome the difficulties faced by the public and business activities caused by COVID-19 and to create a V-shaped recovery. Next year is precisely the time when proactive administration is desperately needed."

He then proposed, "Let us, the public service community, create an opportunity to overcome the aftereffects of the COVID-19 crisis through proactive administration and enable South Korea to move forward again."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.