President's Office Contemplating New Year's Press Conference... Yoon to Begin Public Participation Briefings from Tomorrow

On the 21st, Ministry of Economy and Finance Begins Work Report... Plans to Build Consensus on National Tasks with Public and Expert Participation

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] It has been reported that the Presidential Office has temporarily put on hold President Yoon Seok-yeol's New Year's press conference. This is because the recent national agenda review meeting was conducted with public participation, and the ministries' New Year's work reports are also scheduled to be conducted in a similar manner. President Yoon will begin receiving work reports starting with the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 21st.

According to the Presidential Office, the Ministry of Economy and Finance will announce the macroeconomic outlook for next year and the key economic policy directions for the coming year on the 21st. Discussions involving private experts such as members of the National Economic Advisory Council and government officials are also planned. There is a high possibility that the three major reform tasks?labor, education, and pensions?will be addressed.

The work report session will include ministers, vice ministers, agency heads, bureau chiefs, as well as private experts and citizens who are policy stakeholders, sharing their opinions together. In particular, the plan is to accelerate the focused implementation of national agendas by having time for discussion and building consensus with the public.

The entities subject to the work reports include a total of 18 ministries, the Veterans Affairs Office, the Ministry of Personnel Management, the Ministry of Government Legislation, and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety?four offices in total?as well as four commissions: the Fair Trade Commission, the Financial Services Commission, the Personal Information Protection Commission, and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission. Agency-level organizations such as the National Tax Service will also participate. However, the Korea Communications Commission and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission will respond with written reports.

During this work report session, President Yoon may also engage in a Q&A with the public. This is why the Presidential Office is considering the option of not holding a New Year's press conference. The national agenda review meeting on the 15th was broadcast live for over two and a half hours, and the 11th Emergency Economic and Livelihood Meeting at the end of October was also presided over live by President Yoon.

Typically, the presidential New Year's press conference is held in mid-January, but next month’s mid-January schedule is complicated by diplomatic engagements and the Lunar New Year holiday. A Presidential Office official said, "Nothing has been decided yet."

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