President Lee Orders Full Lifting of Public Vehicle Restrictions, Rejecting Gradual Easing

President Lee Jae-myung has ordered the immediate lifting of the vehicle odd-even restriction system for the public sector, rather than a phased easing of the policy.

During a Cabinet meeting presided over at the Blue House on the 30th, President Lee issued the order after receiving a report from Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Moon Shin-hak, who proposed easing the odd-even system to a five-day rotation system, citing reduced concerns over oil supply following the start of peace negotiations to end the Middle East war.

"Haven't our public officials been making overly harsh sacrifices?" President Lee asked, questioning, "Is there really that big of a difference between maintaining a five-day rotation and lifting the restrictions entirely?"

He further remarked, "The odd-even system was a proactive measure for public officials to set an example during a crisis, but is there a need to continue setting an example when the situation is easing? Must we necessarily do this in stages? Wouldn't it be fine to just lift it all?"

In response, Vice Minister Moon admitted, "In terms of the impact on oil consumption, it would not be a major problem even if we did not implement the five-day rotation system. Our officials just couldn't bring themselves to say, 'We will abolish it'..."

President Lee laughed and reiterated, "It is good to say, 'We will sacrifice first' while imposing restrictions on the public, but now that the public has been relieved of these restrictions, is there any need for us to say, 'We are still sacrificing'?"

Kim Yong-beom, Chief of Staff for Policy at the Blue House, added, "This is the bureaucratic manual," and suggested, "You can proceed as you have decided."

President Lee concluded, "It has no real effectiveness. Regulations should be limited to cases where they are absolutely necessary. If there is no problem with lifting them, let's just lift them all."

Vice Minister Moon replied, "Yes, we will do so."

(Photo: Blue House Press Corps, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.