South Koreas President Lee Emphasizes Policy Reforms to Achieve Government Goals

Seoul, July 15: South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has urged government ministries and agencies to focus on improving and innovating policy implementation. He stated that the remaining time in his five-year term is crucial for achieving his policy priorities.

During a review of the progress of various policy plans, President Lee highlighted the importance of these reforms. On the first day of the policy review meetings, he received reports from the Ministry of Finance, the National Tax Service, the Korea Customs Service, and other departments. According to Yonhap News Agency, he noted that while significant achievements were made in the past year, the next three years and eleven months are even more critical.

He emphasized the need for long-term implementation of policy priorities and addressing existing issues within the government system. President Lee particularly stressed the importance of “improvement and innovation” in policy execution.

Highlighting the necessity for recovering outstanding taxes, Lee proposed bold measures such as temporarily hiring additional staff to tackle this issue. He revealed that overdue national taxes and other government revenues have exceeded 100 trillion won (approximately $67.1 billion). Increasing the number of tax collection personnel, he argued, would expedite the recovery of pending taxes and create more job opportunities.

He stated, “Restoring a system that has become unusual is not easy. Bold steps must be taken.”

In total, 140 government ministries and agencies will present their progress reports in nine sessions scheduled until early August, including Wednesday’s meeting. The theme of these meetings is “An Irreplaceable Republic of Korea in Everyday Life.” Notably, the official name of South Korea is the Republic of Korea.

This marks the second round of comprehensive policy review meetings for President Lee Jae-myung since he took office in June last year, with the first round held at the end of 2025.

Each session will also include about 20 public observers, who will have the opportunity to ask questions and provide suggestions regarding policy implementation.