President Lee Jae-myung said on the 9th regarding the current international situation that "in the short term, the Middle East war poses a considerable threat to our economy, and in the long term, it is a time when the Republic of Korea's economic system must undergo fundamental change."
President Lee made these remarks at the first plenary session of the National Economic Advisory Council held at Cheong Wa Dae, emphasizing that "it is a crisis, but on the other hand, it is also an opportunity." He added, "We must do our best to ensure that the people no longer suffer and can enjoy a hopeful future by preparing for the short term, medium term, and long term." He continued, "If we who are in charge of state affairs prepare well, this situation could become a really good opportunity to turn it into a chance for a new leap forward and build a new system."
President Lee expressed a grave view of the current Middle East war, saying, "Even today, there were reports of bombing despite announcements of a ceasefire. It is difficult to know when the situation will be resolved." Nevertheless, President Lee said, "Our people are truly great people who have tried to work together for the entire community, like the 'gold collection campaign' in the past," adding, "In a crisis situation, everyone becomes mentally prepared to accept change, so we can rather turn this situation into an opportunity and build a system for a new leap forward."
He also said, "When you live in this world, crises always come. There is no life without crises, and can there be a society without crises?" He continued, "However, too many people suffer in this process," and said, "For example, the youth problem is like that now. They want to work hard, but there are no opportunities, and as the briefing materials also mentioned, companies want young people with experience, but young people have no opportunity to gain experience." He then urged concrete youth employment policies, saying, "The national community must create these opportunities."