Hong Nam-ki Emphasizes 'Oeminshim (畏民心)'... "Proactive Response to Economic Risks in Political Transition"

New Year's Address

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Strategy and Finance [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, said on the 31st, "We will proactively inspect in advance to ensure that domestic and international risk factors surrounding our economy do not emerge during this political and policy transition period, and respond preemptively and as swiftly as possible."

In his New Year's address titled "New Year's Greeting to the People," Deputy Prime Minister Hong said ahead of the presidential election scheduled for March next year, "Although a new government will be inaugurated in May this year and there may be policy changes, there can be no pause in efforts to prepare for the future."

He especially quoted Jeong Yak-yong's 'Mokminsimseo' with the phrase 'We must fear if there is any discord in the people's hearts,' referring to 'Oeminshim (畏民心),' emphasizing, "In implementing policies, I will proceed with only the 'nation and the people' as the North Star."

Deputy Prime Minister Hong listed the key economic policy tasks to focus on in the new year as ▲overcoming the crisis of self-employed and small business owners ▲employment measures for vulnerable groups ▲measures to stimulate domestic demand behind export growth ▲livelihood measures such as prices and real estate ▲measures to reduce widening gaps ▲and supply chain measures including the weakening of global value chains.

He said, "We will devote all efforts to multilayered support such as loss compensation and quarantine support so that small business owners severely affected by COVID-19 can overcome difficult times and make a leap forward," adding, "We will strengthen tailored support for vulnerable groups such as youth and persons with disabilities to reduce disparities."

Furthermore, he stated, "The key keywords for a full economic recovery this year are the roles of the 'private sector' and 'innovation,'" and announced, "We will provide comprehensive support to fully promote the Korean New Deal 2.0, foster D·N·A and BIG3 industries, and establish the foundation for five promising new industries including the metaverse."

Deputy Prime Minister Hong also said, in preparation for the 'post-COVID' era, "We will face structural issues such as industrial structure transformation, climate crisis response, and demographic changes including low birth rates head-on and respond preemptively," adding, "We will speedily implement related measures in line with the first year of carbon neutrality promotion, including establishing greenhouse gas reduction pathways and legal and institutional improvements." He also added, "We will actively support corporate business structure reorganization and fair labor transition in preparation for industrial structure transformation."

With the COVID-19 situation expected to continue next year due to the Omicron variant, economic uncertainty remains high. Regarding this, Deputy Prime Minister Hong emphasized, "Based on thorough quarantine control, we will particularly enhance vitality in each sector such as consumption, investment, and exports through the optimal combination of macro policy tools (Policy Mix)." He added, "I look forward to the return of people's lives to normal next year, the economy returning to its pre-crisis normal trajectory, and further achieving a quantum leap toward a leading economy."

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