Ministry of Economy and Finance: Economic Tasks to Address Are 'Stabilizing Livelihoods and Reviving the Economy'

Major Economic Achievements and Challenges on the 1st Anniversary of Government Inauguration

President Yoon Suk-yeol [Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 8th, the government identified ‘stabilizing people’s livelihoods’ and ‘economic recovery’ as key economic tasks to be addressed going forward. It also promised to deliver results related to President Yoon Seok-yeol’s economic management principles of ‘private sector-centered’ and ‘economic structural improvement.’

On the same day, the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced the ‘Major Economic Achievements and Tasks on the 1st Anniversary of the Yoon Seok-yeol Administration’ and mentioned ‘the swift establishment of a price stabilization policy’ and ‘stabilizing the livelihoods of low-income and vulnerable groups’ as future supplementary tasks. Accordingly, the government plans to steadily implement the announced measures and conduct focused inspections on unstable price items such as agricultural, livestock, and marine products. If necessary, policy tasks to support vulnerable groups, including housing stability for low-income households and reducing living expenses, will also be continuously developed.

To achieve economic recovery in the second half of the year, the government will continue to implement policies to boost export and investment vitality, focusing on resolving on-site difficulties. Efforts to maintain the recently revived domestic demand recovery trend will also continue. Maintaining sound fiscal policy, regulatory innovation, structural reform, and responses to demographic and climate crises were also selected as major tasks.

As economic achievements in the first year of the administration, the government emphasized private and market-centered economic management aligned with the four major principles of freedom, innovation, fairness, and solidarity. Through field feedback, the government improved 174 economic regulations and 140 economic-related rules. Corporate tax cuts and tax benefits for national strategic technologies were also significantly expanded. Additionally, the transition to an emergency economic system to proactively respond to the global complex economic crisis and the initiation of structural reforms such as labor and education reforms to improve the productivity of the Korean economy were cited as achievements.

Areas of regret included the global economic contraction due to rapid interest rate hikes by major countries and continued export and economic sluggishness centered on the IT sector amid the semiconductor market downturn.

In its overall assessment, the Ministry of Economy and Finance stated, “Since uncertainties and risks remain across the economy, financial markets, and prices, we will maintain a heightened sense of vigilance and devote all efforts to overcoming the crisis,” adding, “Although it may take time, fundamentally improving the economic structure by increasing productivity and raising potential growth rates is of utmost importance to build a strong economy with a solid foundation.”

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