President Lee: "Livelihood Coupons Aim to Boost Consumption, Prepare Additional Stimulus Programs"

President Lee Jae Myung Presides Over Cabinet Meeting on the 22nd
Emphasizes Seriousness of Flood Damage and Public Officials' Attitude
"Strict Discipline for Public Officials Who Engage in Drinking and Entertainment at Disaster Sites"

President Lee Jae Myung is striking the gavel to declare the opening of the Cabinet meeting held on the 22nd at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

President Lee Jae Myung, while presiding over the Cabinet meeting on the 22nd, instructed, "(The Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon) has an income support effect, but more importantly, it is intended to boost and recover consumption. Each ministry should prepare additional programs to stimulate consumption."

On this day, President Lee, while presiding over the Cabinet meeting at the Yongsan Presidential Office in Seoul, stated, "I am reminded that there are truly many people living in difficult circumstances." He further said, "There may be inflationary pressures resulting from the Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon," but added, "Even when consumption coupons were not distributed, prices continued to rise unreasonably for various reasons." He urged, "I ask that price controls be implemented swiftly and strictly."

President Lee also said, "Please ensure that no one is omitted from the eligible recipients and that blind spots are minimized by encouraging local governments to take proactive action," explaining, "This is because applications are generally made online and digitally, which may exclude some people."

President Lee emphasized the seriousness of flood damage and the attitude required of public officials. He stated, "I want strict discipline for any public officials who engage in drinking and entertainment or act irresponsibly at the harsh scenes where citizens are dying." However, President Lee also noted, "There are many public servants who work diligently during disasters. Please identify as many exemplary cases as possible so they can serve as models for society," and added, "I want to reiterate that accountability and reward within the public sector are extremely important."

President Lee further said, "Watching this year's monsoon and torrential rains, I realized that existing methods and response measures have their limits," instructing the Prime Minister to "formulate fundamental new measures and conduct a comprehensive and accurate analysis of the situation." At the same time, President Lee emphasized, "I ask that a comprehensive disaster response system be newly established by region and by type of natural disaster," and added, "Maintenance of social infrastructure such as bridges and dams should also be expedited."

During this process, President Lee pointed out, "There are too many deaths in our society." He analyzed, "There are many fatalities caused by disasters and accidents, and far too many cases of workplace deaths due to industrial accidents. Cases of suicide, where people end their own lives, are also among the highest in the world."

In particular, regarding industrial accidents, President Lee criticized, "Recently, many industrial accident deaths have occurred because companies try to save costs in the pursuit of profit, thereby neglecting the value of life. Should workplaces, where people go to make a living, become places of death?" He then mentioned, "I will visit the sites of industrial accident deaths as soon as possible to review the current situation and seek countermeasures."

The Cabinet meeting on this day was attended for the first time by nine newly appointed ministers, including those from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Environment, and Ministry of Employment and Labor. At President Lee's suggestion, the new ministers shared their thoughts on their appointments before the meeting. Afterwards, President Lee comprehensively reviewed the damage caused by the heavy rains and received reports on joint and individual response measures from the relevant ministries.

During the Cabinet meeting, one amendment to the Construction Promotion Act, 18 presidential decree agenda items, and one general agenda item were discussed. The amendment to the Construction Promotion Act requires the disclosure of the name of the construction company, the name of the construction project, the location of the site, and the number of fatalities in the event of a fatal accident at a construction site, in order to strengthen the safety management responsibilities of construction companies and prevent construction accidents. Among the presidential decree items was the Ministry of National Defense reorganization plan (partial amendment to the organization of the Ministry of National Defense and its affiliated agencies), which President Lee had instructed to be further reviewed at the previous Cabinet meeting.