At the Cabinet Meeting:
"Public Officials Should Focus on Their Duties Without Hesitation"
On May 13, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Jooho, who is serving as Acting President, stated, "I hope that all government ministries will join forces to ensure that the election is clean, safe, and leads to national unity."
At the Cabinet meeting held at the Government Complex Seoul that morning, Acting President Lee said, "All public officials must maintain strict political neutrality throughout the presidential election period and focus on their assigned duties without hesitation."
He also urged special attention to supporting small business owners and the self-employed, given the ongoing difficulties in the people's livelihoods and the economy. "Until the very last day, our unwavering responsibility is to ensure public safety and protect livelihoods," he said, emphasizing that "public safety is the very reason for the government's existence, and the government must bear unlimited responsibility for it under any circumstances."
He continued, "The government must act as a catalyst for economic recovery for the people, even if only a little, until the very end." He explained, "Last week, an additional supplementary budget of 13.8 trillion won was finalized, and the swift support budget for artificial intelligence (AI), trade, and disaster safety support is scheduled to be fully executed within three months." Among these, the wildfire support budget will be distributed to local governments. He also encouraged active participation from all ministries and public institutions in the "Companion Festival," which is being held throughout May to support small business owners.
The government is conducting intensive safety inspections of approximately 22,000 facilities nationwide from April 14 to June 13, a two-month period, and will announce measures for natural disasters during the upcoming summer. Acting President Lee requested, "Please conduct thorough on-site inspections," and added, "In Gyeongbuk and Gyeongnam, where large wildfires recently occurred, secondary damage from landslides is expected due to heavy summer rains, so please carry out emergency restoration such as soil runoff measures as quickly as possible."
Regarding the public inconvenience caused by the SKT cyber incident and the SIM information leak in April, he instructed, "The Ministry of Science and ICT should coordinate with telecommunications companies and continuously inform the public about the response status," and added, "The Ministry of Science and ICT and related agencies should thoroughly identify the root causes and establish robust measures to prevent recurrence."
Additionally, after visiting the West Sea Five Islands Special Security Unit, Acting President Lee expressed, "I extend my special respect and gratitude to the frontline public officials who carry out their duties with an unbreakable sense of security and mission," and added, "Please prepare calmly so that the next administration can respond to national disasters."
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