At the Saemaul Leaders’ Conference, “Previous governments have given up on reform.”
Presidential Office, 95-minute briefing on government achievements and future tasks
“National Assembly, please speed up the process of pension reform”
Policy Director Sung Tae-yoon is giving a briefing on government achievements and future tasks at the Presidential Office Building in Yongsan on the 5th. From the left, Senior Secretary for Social Affairs Jang Sang-yoon, Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs Park Chun-seop, Director Sung Tae-yoon, Senior Secretary for Science and Technology Park Sang-wook, and Senior Secretary for Low Birth Rate Response Yoo Hye-mi. Presidential photojournalist group
President Yoon Seok-yeol said on the 5th, “I and the government will never give up in the face of resistance and will definitely complete reform for the future of the country and our future.” President Yoon and his wife re-emphasized their will to complete reform in a situation where the government’s driving force to carry out reform tasks has been greatly damaged due to the spread of suspicions about the couple’s involvement in nominations.
President Yoon attended the National Saemaul Leaders Conference held at KINTEX in Ilsan, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do this morning and said, “Reforms are bound to be met with resistance. “This is why previous governments failed and gave up on reform,” he said.
President Yoon compared the government’s four major reforms (healthcare, pension, labor, and education) to the Saemaeul Movement. He said, “The Saemaeul Movement was a great reform movement that changed our society and history,” and “now we have other reform tasks ahead of us.” President Yoon went on to define the four major reforms as “critical structural reform tasks that cannot guarantee the future of the country if not done immediately,” and added, “(by completing these) we will achieve a greater leap forward for the Republic of Korea and pave the way for freedom and prosperity.” “We will open it,” he said.
Cooperation from the National Assembly is essential to implement major reform tasks. Signs of cooperation with the National Assembly, which had been sluggish under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, became weaker as national affairs risks stemming from President Yoon and his wife spread. Following the opening ceremony of the 22nd National Assembly, President Yoon also did not attend the 2025 budget speech held at the National Assembly on the 4th. It seems difficult to avoid criticism for repeatedly emphasizing the need to complete reform but neglecting efforts for cooperation.
The President’s Office is also maintaining the policy of trying to overcome the impasse in which President Yoon’s approval rating has hit its lowest point through policy achievements. On this day, the President’s Office held a briefing on ‘National Performance and Future Tasks’ for approximately 95 minutes at the Yongsan Presidential Office. Senior policy office officials, including Policy Director Sung Tae-yoon, Senior Secretary for Social Affairs Jang Sang-yoon, Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs Park Chun-seop, Senior Secretary for Science and Technology Park Sang-wook, and Senior Secretary for Low Birth Rate Response Yoo Hye-mi, all attended.
At this event, Director Seong selected the 4+1 (low birth rate) reform and 18 policies in four areas, including high-tech industry, economy, and society, as major achievements of the Yoon Seok-yeol government, which is approaching the halfway point of its term. Regarding the pension reform plan, Director Seong said, “A huge amount of data, totaling 5,621 pages in 25 types, has been submitted and made public to the National Assembly. As pension reform is to be completed by law, discussion at the National Assembly level is urgent.” “I earnestly request that the National Assembly quickly create a discussion structure and speed up the processing of the pension reform bill,” he said. Director Seong cited the completion of the 4+1 reform as one of the major tasks the government will pursue in the second half of its term.
A high-ranking official in the Presidential Office said that President Yoon is expected to explain major policy achievements in a public address on the 7th. When asked about the background of the briefing, he said, “It will be difficult for the President to explain even the most detailed policies.” (Today, the staff “They explained (in detail) what happened in the first half of the government’s term,” he said.
