President Lee Jae-myung stated, "The global community is currently facing a massive upheaval where the industrial framework is being completely restructured around artificial intelligence (AI)," adding, "In times like this, bold challenges, investments, and a fast-paced approach are necessary."

President Lee made the remarks while presiding over a work report from ministries including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy at the Blue House, noting, "We must accelerate our efforts to produce tangible results for our leap toward becoming a powerhouse in ultra-gap industries and energy."

"Ultimately, the core lies in creating irreplaceable competitiveness," President Lee emphasized, adding, "It is an important role of the government to keenly read the currents of change and design the future. We must build a robust South Korea equipped with firm industrial growth capacity and a solid energy security system that is not easily shaken by external environmental changes."

He also explained, "To remain unshaken by external shocks, we must flexibly implement trade policies centered on national interests," and stressed, "It is problematic to depend on specific countries or markets. We must continuously strive to diversify export markets and supply chains."

He added, "For crude oil, a key resource, we must diversify our importing countries and expand our strategic reserves."

Encouraging the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, he said, "Over the past six months amid the crisis of war, you have well-managed industrial supply chains and energy supply and demand to ensure that our industries and the daily lives of our citizens were not shaken." He then cautioned, "However, tensions in the Middle East are rising again. We must not let down our guard."

He also underscored the importance of balanced regional development.

President Lee diagnosed, "At the root of all issues, including housing price problems arising in the greater Seoul area, lies the serious problem of excessive concentration in the capital region," adding, "To overcome this, balanced regional development and industrial policies favoring local regions are vital."

He emphasized, "We must redraw the ultra-gap industrial map centered around regional areas so that the axis of South Korea's growth expands from the capital to the provinces," and urged, "We must actively remove obstacles so that corporate investment will not be dampened by various regulations, infrastructure shortages, or a lack of human resources."

Furthermore, he instructed, "Ensure that there are no setbacks in the stable power supply, which is the core of the success of the three major mega-projects announced recently."

President Lee added, "The transition to a decarbonized society to respond to the climate crisis is also a crucial policy task," noting, "To gain public trust, we must thoroughly verify the safety of nuclear power plants and continuously strive to transparently disclose related information."

(Photo provided by the Cheong Wa Dae Press Corps, Yonhap News)