President Lee Calls for Strong Support for Small Firms

President Lee Myung-bak Monday vowed to keep competitive small- and medium-sized businesses afloat through various fiscal support measures, as part of his government's drive to prevent the global credit crunch from spilling over into the real economy.

In his biweekly radio address that aired on KBS Radio for about eight minutes Monday morning, Lee also urged domestic business conglomerates to support financially strapped small businesses and called for concerted efforts to boost public confidence in economic recovery, according to Yonhap News.

"Small- and medium-sized businesses and self-employed individuals represent 99 percent of all businesses in the nation and account for 88 percent of entire employment. Thus, the deteriorating business sentiment is largely attributed to the difficulties faced by small businesses," Lee was quoted as saying.

"I'm convinced that rescuing small businesses is the shortest cut to increasing employment and revitalizing domestic consumption. In this sense, large conglomerates should have a greater understanding of the difficulties of small businesses. Co-existence of small and large companies will help improve our overall economic competitiveness."

The Chief Executive vowed that the government will further reduce taxes for small businesses and self-employed individuals and help them receive greater benefits from increased fiscal expenditure.

"The government will greatly expand its credit guarantee ceiling for small- and medium-sized exporters. I myself will conduct a thorough oversight to make sure that all policies designed for small businesses are thoroughly enforced."

Lee declared his strong willingness to stanch a slump in the real economy, as the nation has managed to tide over its foreign exchange liquidity crisis thanks to a recent $30 billion currency swap deal with the U.S.

"Under the currency swap deal with the U.S., we can use U.S. dollars whenever necessary, virtually terminating concern about the nation's possible foreign currency liquidity problem," said Lee.

"The U.S., Europe, Japan and other advanced countries are bracing for zero percent growth next year. We have to further boost our domestic demand, if we want to attain 4 percent growth... That's why all countries worldwide are cutting interest rates, providing sufficient liquidity, expanding fiscal spending and cutting taxes."

Lee gave his first U.S.-style radio address on Oct. 13, vowing to focus his policy efforts on increasing new jobs and overcoming the financial market crisis. He plans to give his third radio address on Nov. 17.