Choe Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy, "Full Effort to Restore Balance Between Exports and Domestic Demand"

Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Economy and Finance, is speaking about regulatory innovation in the new industry sector at the Emergency Economic Ministers' Meeting held on the 13th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Economy and Finance, stated on the 13th, "We will focus all our efforts on restoring people’s livelihoods and enhancing economic dynamism to achieve a balanced recovery between exports and domestic demand."

On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister Choi held an emergency economic ministers' meeting at the government complex in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and said, "The wheels must be the same size for the cart to move forward," emphasizing this point.

Choi stressed, "It is not spring just because it is March; spring comes when it gets warm. Similarly, despite the recovery trend in indicators, the felt economy is still slow to warm up," adding, "In the case of construction investment, the impact of poor order intake has become visible since the end of last year." He further explained, "Due to factors such as the dual structure of the labor market, difficulties continue mainly for young job seekers and workers in small and medium-sized enterprises."

He continued, "We will soon prepare and announce measures to reinforce construction investment through revitalizing regional investment and leading the public sector," and explained, "We will also prepare measures to enhance social mobility by next month to quickly translate them into tangible results."

However, Deputy Prime Minister Choi analyzed the overall economy as "showing a gradual recovery trend." He evaluated, "Thanks to the recovery in exports, we have recorded a current account surplus for nine consecutive months. The employment rate reached a record high of 61.6% as of February, with employment increasing in manufacturing, services, and construction sectors, maintaining an increase of over 300,000 employed persons."