By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak instructed his staff Sunday to keep the temperature in Cheong Wa Dae at the government-recommended level of 19 degrees Celsius.
In a meeting with his aides at the presidential office, Lee asked them to embrace a ``me first'' attitude in tackling the global warming issue, a spokesman said.
When asked by the President, ``What is the temperature of this room?'' an aide replied it was slightly over 20 degrees Celsius.
Lee reprimanded them for keeping the temperature above the recommended standard, according to the spokesman.
``Officials of Cheong Wa Dae should become role models (in the energy saving initiative),'' Lee said, ordering them to keep their office at 19 degree Celsius or lower.
Lee also pointed out that high energy-consuming buildings, such as hospitals, universities and department stores, should adopt an energy management system that regulates the temperature.
In addition, he instructed his staff to draw up measures that would ease the burden of rising energy costs among low-income families.