Yoon's First On-Site Visit... "Economy Very Difficult, Proactive Crisis Response"

'Emergency Convening of the "Macro-Financial Situation Review Meeting"... Yoon "Even Good Policies Must Consider Their Impact"
Choi Sang-mok, Chief Economic Secretary, "Thorough Diagnosis by Private Experts... Field-Centered Policy Making"'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] President Yoon Seok-yeol urgently convened a ‘Macroeconomic and Financial Situation Review Meeting’ on the 13th, stating, "The economy that people actually feel on the ground is very difficult," and added, "At times like this, the government must accurately recognize the economic situation and proactively prepare for the crisis." As abnormal signals were detected in various external economic conditions, such as sharp rises in exchange rates and prices, he personally checked the macroeconomic situation just three days after his inauguration. This indicates that the government judges the domestic economic situation, including financial markets, real economy, and prices, as being in crisis. President Yoon emphasized, "No matter how good a policy is, the government's role is to carefully consider how it will affect the market and how it will influence the sentiments and judgments of economic agents."

On the same day, President Yoon held the ‘Macroeconomic and Financial Situation Review Meeting’ at the International Financial Center in Myeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, where he engaged in in-depth discussions with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho, Bank of Korea Governor Lee Chang-yong, and others about the global economic and financial market situation and preemptive response measures.

The meeting was arranged to assess the warning signs in the macroeconomy as the recent consumer price inflation rate approached 5% and the pace of domestic and international interest rate hikes accelerated. This was also the reason why the Bank of Korea Governor attended a presidential meeting for the first time in over two years. President Yoon diagnosed, "The recent domestic and international economic conditions are rapidly changing. The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, global supply chain disruptions, rising prices, and monetary policy responses by various countries are increasing volatility in financial and foreign exchange markets, and the trade deficit and real economy slowdown are continuing."

President Yoon stressed, "Although a supplementary budget for full compensation of losses to small business owners and stabilization of people’s livelihoods has been prepared, the economy that people actually feel on the ground is very difficult." He continued, "To accurately diagnose the problem, we need a mindset of always finding answers on the ground," and said, "The economy is right there in the lives of the people on the ground, so the new government will strive to find answers on-site and continuously communicate with private experts to create better policies."

Since his inauguration, President Yoon has consistently emphasized the need to prepare countermeasures for the domestic economic situation. At the Chief Secretary meeting he chaired for the first time on the 11th, he instructed, "In a situation where people are struggling with severe livelihood difficulties, carefully monitor various indicators and consider the causes of price increases and measures to curb them." At the first Cabinet meeting the day before, he also pointed out, "A supplementary budget has been prepared based on central government fiscal expenditure standards to stabilize prices and livelihoods," prioritizing management of the livelihood economy.

The Presidential Office plans to actively reflect the opinions discussed at the meeting in future government policy formulation. Choi Sang-mok, Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs, who attended the meeting, said in a call, "Private experts will conduct meticulous diagnoses of macroeconomic and financial issues such as recent international financial environment changes, domestic price increases, and interest rate hikes," and added, "We will continue to hold meetings with them regularly to establish market- and field-centered policies through communication."

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