By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak stressed the need to save energy Friday in a bid to overcome the current economic downturn, pointing out some lavish buildings of provincial governments.
At a meeting with about 230 local administrative chiefs at Cheong Wa Dae, Lee also said the nation should map out plans to cut carbon dioxide emission by the year-end, claiming the nation is facing a serious problem regarding the energy issue.
``Even when government buildings are constructed, there are neither blueprints nor self-regulations to save energy,'' Lee said.
He continued, ``Japan has already put (in place) regulations regarding energy. By lowering a ceiling, it saves energy for air-conditioning and heating but there is no such public awareness of energy saving in Korea.''
Earlier, he said it is difficult to raise the nation's competitiveness when public servants build offices to be bigger and better.
Lee instructed local government chiefs to focus on ways to reduce energy consumption in their region, saying low-carbon, green growth is an unavoidable option for the future.
Citing the annual conference of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change held in December, he said, ``Summits in every country should present a goal of carbon dioxide reduction. It's not optional but mandatory.''
``This year, we should work out plans to decrease carbon dioxide emissions as well,'' he said. ``What local administrative heads should do right now is study how to save energy.''
President Lee said the economic conditions could be worse than expected, but stressed that the government is able to lower the interest rate and increase fiscal spending.
``Interest rates are approaching zero in the United States and Japan and Europe's rate hovers around two percent,'' he said. ``But the basic interest rate here is three percent, so we can lower it further.''
Besides, South Korea has the smallest national debt among OECD member countries, he added.
Lee also expressed concern over the low-income bracket and employment, as self-employed businesses and small companies are expected to suffer the most from the economic downturn.
``As we are going through unprecedented difficulties, we have to map out unprecedented countermeasures,'' he said. ``The government has already allocated the budget, so it should be executed from the first quarter.''