Moon meets with new advisers to talk growth

President Moon Jae-in held a special meeting Wednesday with top economic advisers as he works to keep the local economy from slowing.

The meeting was held over lunch at the Blue House and was attended by Moon’s new special adviser for science and economy, Lee Jeong-dong, and the new vice chair of the National Economic Advisory Council, Lee Jay-min.

The luncheon comes one week after the president appointed the two, but it marks a very rare occasion for the president to hold a meeting with such a small group of people.

In the meeting, the president and his advisers discussed ways to promote investment, according to Blue House spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom.

The new special adviser for science and economy stressed the need to encourage more talented people to start new businesses.

Moon noted that rigidity in the government may be a reason the people and government officials are prevented from embarking on new challenges.

“It may be because the government depends too heavily on written laws. It is unable to take bold measures unless provided by the law. [Government offices] are saying they have no reason to get hurt because of possible rebukes from the Board of Audit and Inspection,” Moon reportedly said.

“They need to interpret legal provisions more broadly so the people can do anything and everything unless prohibited by the law,” he added, according to the spokesman.

Wednesday’s meeting was apparently part of Moon’s latest drive to revamp the economy, a Blue House official noted.

All major meetings and events the president has held since the start of the new year have been aimed at promoting economic reforms and investment.

His latest endeavor took place Tuesday when he highlighted the importance of ICT to ensure the continued global competitiveness of the country’s manufacturing in a special meeting with local business leaders, researchers and students.

Such efforts follow reports that Asia’s fourth-largest economy may grow at a slower pace this year than in 2018, when the local economy is estimated to have expanded 2.7 percent.

Last week, the Bank of Korea slashed its 2019 growth outlook for the country to 2.6 percent from a 2.7 percent forecast in October.

Yonhap