By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
The administration will make increasing corporate investment and creating jobs its top priorities this year, President Lee Myung-bak said Thursday.
He called on private companies to do more to ensure a full-scale recovery by increasing their investment, saying it was time for the government to reduce its role in boosting the economy.
Lee, however, said that Korea will have to maintain an "emergency economy mode" at least until the first half of this year, while simultaneously reviewing exit strategies.
"I think the economy will enter a full recovery phase only after the cycle of making investments, creating jobs and increasing demand has been completed," Lee said during a meeting with economic policymakers. "Private firms' full-scale investments have yet to begin."
Lee called for the need to improve investment conditions here.
"The economy is now recovering, but there are still many uncertainties in the domestic market, especially in the investment sector," the CEO-turned-President said.
"We should encourage foreign and Korean firms to invest here with administrative support and incentives. The job market will remain sluggish if firms are reluctant to invest."
Lee also stressed the need to increase the amount of investment in research and development, noting that the country was well equipped with highly trained human resources.