"After 37 Years in Public Service, Hong Nam-ki Departs... 'Pride in Serving the Nation and People'"

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seon-hee] Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, will retire on the 9th after 37 years of public service. Having devoted more than half a lifetime to public service as an economic official, he expressed his gratitude at his final press conference before retirement on the 4th, saying, "I am proud and deeply thankful for having had the opportunity to serve and work for the country, the people, and the government."

Deputy Prime Minister Hong reflected, "The past three and a half years felt like a 'long-distance marathon,' but due to economic recession, the materials, parts, and equipment (SoBuJang) crisis, and the COVID-19 crisis during my tenure, I actually carried out my duties with the urgent mindset of running a '100-meter sprint,' facing constant tension and a packed schedule."

Appointed as the second Deputy Prime Minister of the Moon Jae-in administration in December 2018, Hong served for a total of three and a half years, marking the longest tenure since the 1980s. During his term, he faced an unprecedented economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and chaired the Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters meetings 116 times, operating a total of 365 ministerial-level meetings.

Hong recalled, "I have experience working on the front lines as the Financial Counselor at the Korean Embassy in the U.S. during the 2008 global financial crisis. About two and a half years of my three and a half years as Deputy Prime Minister were during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I handled all tasks from crisis occurrence to recovery as the head of the economy."

He mentioned key economic policies he promoted, including the development of the BIG 3 industries, the Korean New Deal, 2050 carbon neutrality, and the population task force (TF), stating, "In addition to overcoming immediate crises, I made special efforts to prepare for the future of the Korean economy." He also likened policies such as strengthening quarantine measures, restoring livelihoods, enhancing growth potential and inclusiveness, and securing active fiscal policy and fiscal soundness?which could potentially conflict?to a "higher-order simultaneous equation," explaining, "I tried to find the optimal solution by considering the maximum balance among policies to reduce conflicting factors and side effects."

However, he cited 'real estate market stabilization' as the most regrettable aspect of his economic policy efforts. Hong said, "There have been various media evaluations regarding economic management, including crisis recovery and ministerial policy decisions, but some parts will be judged by history later."

Regarding the 4.8% inflation rate recorded in April, which was effectively his last month in office, he expressed concern, saying, "I am very worried. While economic recovery and maintaining growth rates are important, I believe managing living costs stably should be a higher priority." However, he added, "This is more due to global inflationary pressures than domestic factors. For a country like ours, which imports 100% of its crude oil from overseas, the influence of international oil prices is so significant that price stabilization is not easy."

After retirement, Hong is expected to return as a member of the public and take a well-deserved rest. He said, "I am deeply grateful for having had the opportunity to serve in public office and for being able to complete my duties to the end." He added, "Having spent my entire career in the economic field of public service, I hope to continue contributing to the Korean economy in this area even after retirement." However, he drew a clear line by stating, "I will not step into the political arena."

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