Lee Keeps Low Profile on 2nd Anniversary of Inauguration
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
The first day of his third year in office was business as usual for President Lee Myung-bak.
Without public celebrations, he worked on a tight schedule, Thursday, meeting senior policymakers and politicians to discuss challenging issues.
According to Lee's aides, Cheong Wa Dae initially planned to hold a ceremony, but canceled it as it could have been viewed as being too ``extravagant'' at a time when many people are still suffering from economic hardship.
Instead, presidential chief of staff Chung Chung-kil convened a rare meeting of staff members early in the morning ``to renew resolutions they made when the Lee administration was born two years ago,'' Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.
Usually, Lee enters his office before 8 a.m. to receive a daily report on overnight news and check his schedule, but the routine was done on a bus heading for the Korea Development Institute (KDI) in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, where he presided over a policy coordination meeting of Cabinet ministers from 8 a.m.
Afterwards, Lee made time to meet with KDI employees and gave them a pep talk.
Lee has held the so-called Emergency Economic Meeting once a week since the country was hit by the global financial crisis in late 2008.
The underground bunker at the presidential office has often been used for the meetings, but recently he has visited public firms, institutes and regional offices to get them involved in the discussion.
At the Cabinet meeting, Lee stressed the role of public servants to make Korea an advanced country.
``Public officials should not be complacent with the present, but always seek changes for a better future with a sense of responsibility,'' Lee said. ``If we are well prepared for global competition now, the country's status in the world will continue to rise for the next decade.
``I believe one of my key missions is to lay a solid foundation for Korea's entry into the ranks of advanced nations.''
Lee returned to Cheong Wa Dae before noon to have lunch with post holders of the governing Grand National Party, including Chairman Chung Mong-joon and floor leader Ahn Sang-soo.