Yoon: "Innovation Needed to Share Growth Benefits... Cannot Neglect National and Class Gaps"

Reevaluating Low Birthrate Policies from the Ground Up... Overcoming Challenges

President Yoon Suk-yeol is attending the '2024 Asian Leadership Conference Opening Ceremony' held on the 22nd at the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol emphasized on the 22nd that "it is important to accelerate the pace of growth through innovation," but also stressed that "a higher level of innovation that shares the benefits of growth evenly and achieves shared prosperity must accompany it."

President Yoon attended the 'Asia Leadership Conference' hosted by the Chosun Ilbo at the Dynasty Hall of the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, in the morning, stating, "Unbalanced growth that neglects the widening gaps between classes and nations without expanding individual freedom and welfare is no longer sustainable."

He explained, "During my two years in office, I have worked to establish a fair economic order alongside rapid growth domestically, and externally, I have strived to expand alliances of freedom, peace, and prosperity with countries that share universal values."

He continued, "We have made efforts to significantly increase investment in science and technology and to enhance industrial and corporate competitiveness through innovations such as tax reform and deregulation," adding, "We have also worked to innovate the labor market to build a virtuous cycle structure where the fruits of growth are fairly distributed and this leads to increased productivity."

Regarding the low birthrate issue, President Yoon reiterated, "It is a critical task that affects not only the existence of the nation but also the future of humanity."

He pointed out, "The low birthrate is a complex problem intertwined with various socio-cultural factors including jobs, housing, education, welfare, labor, culture, and child-rearing environments," and emphasized, "To fundamentally solve this, a nationwide effort to innovate society as a whole is necessary."

He added, "The government plans to establish a Low Birthrate Response Planning Department to reexamine low birthrate policies from the ground up and to devote all efforts to overcoming the national emergency of low birthrate," and said, "We will also focus on sharing policies with countries grappling with the low birthrate issue, spreading successful cases, and solving the problem together."

Referring to the 'AI Seoul Summit' co-hosted with the United Kingdom the previous day, President Yoon explained, "AI should be used to expand human freedom, dignity, and welfare, and should be utilized in ways that minimize risks such as fake news and deepfakes that threaten freedom and democracy."

He added, "In this era of extreme uncertainty, our human society faces numerous crises and challenges," and concluded, "However, I am confident that if we put our heads together and unite to find answers, we will surely find a way to open a happy future for humanity."

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