President Lee Myung-bak called Monday for boosting the morale of businesses so that they can work harder and help lead South Korea out of the economic slowdown amid growing concern Asia's fourth-largest economy may be entering a low growth trend.
Lee made the appeal after the Bank of Korea's data showed last week that Korea's economy grew 0.2 percent in the July-September period from three months earlier, the slowest pace in nearly three years after a 0.2 percent on-quarter gain in the fourth quarter of 2009.
"The nation's growth is somewhat slowing as the world enters a low-growth era. The Korean economy has been faring relatively better than many other economies, which in turn means the lowering of the foreign exchange rate. This, however, makes difficulties for exporters," Lee said during his biweekly radio address.
Lee said he is still confident of a fast turnaround.
"This is a time for the government, businesses and the public to join forces to increase investment and create more jobs," Lee said. "When the going is tough, it is all the more necessary to boost entrepreneurship. I hope the business people particularly will show a challenging entrepreneurship spirit."
Lee has voiced concern in recent weeks about rising "anti-business" sentiment as politicians from both ruling and opposition parties have stepped up calls for tightening the reins on conglomerates under the slogan of "economic democratization" ahead of December's presidential vote.
Conglomerates view such calls with concern they could be unfairly discriminated against.
Lee said the government will actively support and encourage all businesses, big, and small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) just as it did during the 2008 global financial crisis.
Later in the day, Lee held an economic policy meeting and made similar remarks.
"It is much worried that if growth falls too much, it will lead to a fall in jobs," Lee said, according to presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha. "If the economy slows, it will reduce jobs and cause problems with social stability. Our goal lies in jobs and social stability, rather than the economy itself."
Lee emphasized again that the country should try to ensure the morale of businesses does not fall, saying not only the government, but also "political circles" should provide support for companies working hard.
Lee also told officials not to let their guard down in the final months of his administration, stressing that a sprinter should not slow down "when handing over the baton" to the next runner in a relay race. (Yonhap)