President Lee Jae-myung received a briefing on the 2026 business of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF), the first ministry to report to the president. It took place at the Sejong Government Complex on Dec. 11.
It was the first time a business briefing session had been televised alive.
The sessions were designed to help the cabinet carry out policies in a speedy fashion, now that six months have passed since the President Lee Jae-myung government was inaugurated.
By televising the event live, the Presidential Office said it was designed to present a blueprint for the management of state affairs.
In a briefing later, spokesman Kim Nam-joon of the Presidential Office said President Lee picked responsible administration as the foremost value of state affairs.
In accordance with President Lee’s move toward expansionary fiscal policies, he said the government will raise next year’s growth rate to a level of 1.8 percent or more and drive a potential growth rate with a focus on physical AI.
(from left, top) Deputy Prime Minister-Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol, MOTIR Minister Kim Jung-kwan, Deputy Prime Minister-Minister Bae Kyung-hoon of the Ministry of Science and ICT and MOLIT Minister Kim Yun-deok.
(from left, below) Minister Song Mi-ryung of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, MCST Minister Chae Hwi-young and MSS Minister Han Seong-sook.
In his report to President Lee, Deputy Prime Minister-Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol disclosed a plan to inaugurate a “Korean-type national fund” by designating the direction of policies with a focus on six sectors.
DPM Koo spoke of cumulating and increasing national wealth systematically and transferring it to next generations. Koo also spoked of the need for maintaining an expansionary fiscal policy trend until 2027 and stressed economic growth strategies to rebound a potential growth rate for next year and overcome bipolarization.
As for separating industrial and financial capital, MOEF decided to inaugurate a tripartite consultation entity, with the chairman of the Financial Services Commission and the minister of the Ministry of Planning and Budget (MPB), since MPB is to be spun from MOEF.
A briefing of the work by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR) and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) took up issues related to the securing of national interests overseas, such as regional growth through regulatory relaxation tailored to meet districts’ needs and Korean-U.S. trade negotiations.
In his report to President Lee, MOTIR Minister Kim Jung-kwan said his ministry will concentrate its capabilities on the direction of three policies for the year 2026 under the catchphrase “Growth to Regions and Vitality to Companies.”
Stressing, “We’re determined to actualize three policies for next year,” Minister Kim suggested the implementation of regional growth, the manufacturing industry’s AI transformation and new trade strategies.
As for regional growth strategies, Minister Kim said the government will make all-out efforts to drive regional growth in all areas as the Seoul metropolitan area has been fostered as a growth center.
Kim said his ministry will designate and support each sphere’s own core industries so that companies and manpower can gather together.
“We will finalize growth engines in five spheres — Seoul metropolitan area, Chungcheong, Southeast, Daegu-Gyeongsang and Honam — and three special self-government provinces — Jeju, Gangwon and Jeollabuk-do along with the Presidential Committee for Balanced National Development by next February,” he said.
As for the second policy direction of AI transformation, Minister Kim said, “The Manufacturing AX (MAX) Alliance comprising industry and academic circles will be inaugurated by next September to cooperate in all directors in areas, such as data sharing, AI development, and launching of global innovative products.”
In this vein, he said more than 500 AI factories and regional specialized projects will be implemented to have the manufacturing industry employ AI and capitalize it for regional development.
As for funding $350 billion investments into the United States, Minister Kim said the government will explore investment projects conducive to Korea’s national interests on the condition of commercial feasibility and create a regime of returning revenues to the investments home.
He also spoke of steps to stabilize the supply chains of rare earth resources and prevent outside leakage of core technologies.
President Lee asked MSS Minister Han Seong-sook to give priority to issues such as reciprocity and shared growth.
The government plans to raise the competitiveness of the general AI-based models, developed with homegrown technologies, to global top 10 levels, actualizing AI-based national transformation encompassing administration, industry and daily life sectors.
In his report to President Lee on Dec. 12, Deputy Prime Minister-Minister Bae Kyung-hoon of the Ministry of Science and ICT said, “Korea will secure its own AI foundation model ranked in global top levels in 2026, disclose open sources and allow companies and academic circles to use it freely.”
The government plans to simultaneously implement both the development of the general AI model and specialized AI services in diverse areas, such as national defense, manufacturing and culture, so as to raise the AI use levels of the whole of the industry and public sectors.
At a briefing session of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), President Lee instructed officials to take steps to help to jeonsae scam victims and review the precedent on the lowest price bidding system.
In his report to President Lee, MOLIT Minister Kim Yun-deok said, “A plan of additionally relocating public entities to provincial regions and target areas will be finalized next year and full relocation will be done from 2027.”
The second relocation of public organizations is one of the national agendas of the President Lee Jae-myung government.
Minister Kim reported five projects in five sectors — regional reinvigoration (balanced growth and regional economy), economic growth (future industry and construction industry vitality), stabilization of real estate (housing supply and housing welfare) and fair society and public benefit.
In her report to President Lee, Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong of the Ministry of Health and Welfare said the ministry plans to ramp up manpower at metropolitan situation rooms and restructure a regime for transporting seriously ill patients to cope with a vacuum of essential medical care, such as deaths related to a failure of finding emergency medical centers.
President Lee said reasons for the avoidance of essential medical care are a burden on doctors, such as lower fee-of-service and heavier medical accident responsibility.
The president instructed Minister Jeong to review the possible medical insurance coverage of hair loss, a “survival al issue “for the youth.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) reported the 2026 business plan on the vision “K-Culture, Enjoyed by All People and Embracing the World” to President Lee on Dec. 16.
The ministry plans to nurture “K-culture” into a new core industry.
MCST said the government will offer full support of overseas market entry by K-food, beauty and fashion sectors on top of film, game and K-Pop segments.
The ministry plans to advance a goal of attracting 30 million inbound tourists.
MCST Minister Chae Hwi-young said the government will strengthen its roles as a control tower to advance a goal of attracting 30 million inbound tourists and expand tourist sites from the Seoul metropolitan areas to regional metropolitan hubs.
President Lee stressed the need for reinvigorating provincial areas in connection with tourism, culture and art sectors.
President Lee Jae-myung receives a briefing from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Employment and Labor at the Sejong Government Complex Convention Center on Dec. 11.
In her report to President Lee on Dec. 11, Minister Song Mi-ryung of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said the government will speedily carry out restructuring tasks, such as strengthening of food security, distribution innovation, cultivation of youth farming, K-food export, NongHyup, farming land and renewable energy reform.
The ministry plans to enact a food security act, expand an online whole-sale market and raise K-food exports to $15 billion.
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