Lee Stresses Bolstering Koreas Economic Power
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak said Friday that the global economic recession would provide a historic opportunity for South Korea in strengthening cooperation with advanced economies and increasing its economic power.
``Korea and the rest of the world are now suffering an economic crisis that will simultaneously offer us a crucial opportunity,'' Lee said in a message to a party organized by the Federation of Korean Industries in Davos, Switzerland, for global business leaders.
The World Economic Forum has been underway in the ski resort to discuss solutions to the global downturn.
Lee said Korea is seeking to tide over the crisis by strengthening policy coordination with the international community. The country will actively engage in global negotiations to deal with issues of common interest, such as climate change, poverty and energy shortages, he said.
At a meeting with presidential secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae, Lee called on his staff to strengthen and quicken policy coordination with ministries as far as economic issues are concerned.
``We've shifted the administration into emergency mode to deal with the economic crisis, but decision making has been too slow,'' Lee was quoted as saying by spokeswoman Park Eun-hye.
Today, Lee and senior officials will gather for a workshop to share ideas on how best to serve the country.
The two-day meeting, which takes place as the Lee administration is set to enter the second year of its five-year term, will be attended by all Cabinet members and the nominees for finance and unification ministers, as well as special advisors and secretaries to the president, according to spokesman Kim.
``The main objective of the workshop is to share the direction of government policies for the second year of the administration. There will also be discussions on key current issues,'' Kim said.