President Lee: "Reforms That Only Add to Suffering by Clinging to Justification and Ideals Are Not True Reforms"

President Lee Presides Over Senior Aides Meeting
"Must Help Protect Human Rights and Guarantee Substantive Rights for the People"
Orders "Meticulous Policy Review from a Practical and Effective Perspective"
Urges Speed in Reform: "Implement

On January 22, President Lee Jaemyung stated, "If any reform measure, instead of improving people's lives, clings to justification and principle and only increases suffering and confusion, it cannot be called reform." This is interpreted as a reiteration of his ultimate goals and principles regarding prosecution reform during the previous day's New Year press conference.

Yonhap News Agency

During his opening remarks at the senior aides' meeting held at the Blue House Main Building that day, President Lee emphasized, "The sole purpose of running state affairs on behalf of the sovereign people is, above all else, to substantially improve the lives of the people."

President Lee further stated that the success or failure of reform tasks depends on "how much and in what ways the 50 million citizens can tangibly feel changes in their daily lives." He also instructed officials to meticulously review policies from a practical and effective perspective, focusing on which measures help protect human rights and guarantee substantive rights for the people. He added, "Changing the paradigm of growth and pursuing reforms are ultimately all for the people, by the people, and carried out by the people."

President Lee called on the National Assembly and the government to accelerate their efforts. He said, "Please cooperate so that legislative processes in the National Assembly can proceed more quickly, and encourage government ministries and agencies to speed up as well, so that visible results can be achieved early." He continued, "The time we have is limited, and the momentum for reform diminishes as time passes." He added, "The sooner we implement feasible reforms, the sooner people will be able to experience meaningful changes. Time is truly of the essence."

During the previous day's New Year press conference, President Lee mentioned the 'exceptional necessity' of supplementary investigative powers for the prosecution and stressed, "The core of prosecution reform is not about stripping away power; the ultimate goal is to provide remedies for citizens' rights and to protect human rights." He added, "We must establish a safe prosecution investigation and indictment system that is efficient but does not allow for abuse of authority."

President Lee also mentioned the full implementation of the "Artificial Intelligence (AI) Basic Act" starting that day. He stated, "Artificial intelligence has already become a key driver fundamentally reshaping not only the economic sphere but also society and every aspect of our lives." He emphasized, "Institutional support is needed to maximize the potential capabilities of the industry and to proactively manage any anticipated side effects."

President Lee particularly stressed, "We must minimize unnecessary confusion in the field through rational and transparent policy implementation," and noted, "There are cases where regulations for new technologies end up undermining synergy at the ground level, contrary to their original intent."

He further urged his aides, "While listening to concerns from the industry, please support ventures and startups with relatively fewer resources so that they can adapt well to the new system," and reminded them, "Policy is completed not at the desk, but in the field. Please keep this in mind once again."