Roundtable with 10 Major Corporations at the Blue House
"There Must Be Grasshoppers and Rabbits for Tigers to Stay Healthy... The Economy Is an Ecosystem"
"Summit Diplomacy Will Focus on Agendas Needed by Businesses"
President Lee: "I Heard You Canceled Your Overseas Schedule to Be Here"
Lee Jaeyong: "Of Course"
On February 4 at the Blue House, President Lee Jaemyung met with 10 major corporations, including Samsung, Hyundai Motor, and SK, and asked them to "create more hiring opportunities for young people and expand investment in non-capital regions." The business community responded by saying, "We will invest approximately 270 trillion won in non-capital regions over the next five years."
In his opening remarks at the "Corporate Roundtable on Expanding Youth Employment and Regional Investment," held at the main building of the Blue House that day, President Lee said, "It would be ideal if the fruits of growth could spread warmth evenly to small and medium-sized enterprises, to non-capital regions, and to the younger generation," making this request. Earlier, as he entered the meeting room and greeted participants, President Lee asked Chairman Lee Jaeyong, "I heard you canceled your overseas schedule to be here, is that right?" Chairman Lee replied, "Of course."
President Lee first stressed that a healthy ecosystem can be created only when the benefits of growth are not concentrated. He said, "The economy is an ecosystem. There must be grasslands, grasshoppers, and rabbits for tigers to live healthily," adding, "If things go wrong, the grassland may be destroyed, but that is not the tiger's fault. In fact, the greatest responsibility lies with the government." His remarks signaled the government's intention to actively pursue policies for shared growth.
He then cited regional disparity as a serious problem facing the Republic of Korea. President Lee said, "The reason people feel as if something terrible will happen if they leave the Seoul metropolitan area is because facilities, opportunities, and infrastructure are concentrated there," and analyzed that "in non-capital regions, it is hard to find people, corporate activities are difficult, and jobs decrease, which leads to people leaving, creating a vicious cycle."
He said this vicious cycle must be broken and turned into a virtuous one. President Lee stated, "The government has pledged to create new axes of regional development through a '5 Core Regions and 3 Special Zones' framework, and it would be helpful if companies could move in step with this," adding, "In the Seoul metropolitan area, costs such as land prices, electricity, and water are continuously rising, and overcrowding is becoming a factor that erodes competitiveness. In the long run, opportunities lie in non-capital regions."
Regarding youth employment, President Lee said, "I am grateful that companies increased their hiring scale last year and expanded youth employment," and asked, "I would like the public and private sectors to work together a bit more to enhance young people's capabilities and increase their employment opportunities." On support for start-ups, he added, "The era of relying entirely on employment is passing," proposing that the government and corporations "work in harmony" on this front.
He offered a positive assessment of recent economic indicators and pledged to continue summit diplomacy that meets corporate needs. President Lee said, "The world is going through dizzying confusion, making it very difficult to make judgments and take action," but added, "Even so, exports have hit all-time highs, and stock prices have surpassed 5,000 points, allowing the people to feel a bit of hope. This is thanks to all of you."
He continued, "As I have been attending summits, I have seen that while a great deal of effort is being made at the corporate level in private-sector economic cooperation, summit diplomacy itself serves as an effective opportunity to expand and deepen that cooperation," and added, "I have instructed that summit diplomacy schedules be arranged in a more systematic way, focusing on the countries and agendas that companies need." He went on to say, "If economic organizations or individual companies actively share their views on which items match well with which countries, we will reflect that in overseas visit schedules and the content of events."
Ryu Jin: "270 Trillion Won in Non-Capital Regions... We Must Increase Hiring and Training and Develop the Service Industry"
Right after the president's opening remarks, Ryu Jin, chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, said, "We will actively lend our strength to expanding youth employment and revitalizing regional economies," noting, "A deep vicious cycle has formed in which young people move to the Seoul metropolitan area in search of jobs, while non-capital regions, facing population decline, worry about regional extinction."
He went on, "The 10 major business groups are planning regional investments of about 270 trillion won over the next five years," and added, "If we include companies beyond the top 10 groups, the total could reach around 300 trillion won." He further stated, "We will increase new hiring and expand job training, internships, and on-site customized training," while asking the government for "bold support so that companies' recruitment and employment plans can proceed without setbacks."
He also said, "There are concerns that manufacturing jobs will decrease due to the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) and robots," and added, "We need to develop the service industry, which has a strong employment effect, to respond to the youth employment challenge."
Attending the roundtable that day were Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jaeyong, SK Vice Chairman Choi Changwon, Hyundai Motor Company Chairman Chung Euisun, LG Chairman Koo Kwangmo, Lotte Chairman Shin Dongbin, Posco Chairman Jang Inhwha, Hanwha Vice Chairman Kim Dongkwan, HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Kisun, GS Chairman Hur Taesoo, and Hanjin Chairman Cho Won Tae. From business organizations, Federation of Korean Industries Chairman Ryu Jin and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice Chairman Park Iljun were present, while from the government, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Koo Yooncheol and Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeongkwan attended. From the Blue House, Chief of Staff Kang Hoonshik, policy chief Kim Yongbeom, Senior Secretary for Economic Growth Ha Joonkyung, and Senior Secretary for AI Future Planning Ha Jeongwoo were in attendance.
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