President Roh Stresses Investments and Spending

President Roh Moo-hyun commented on economic stimulation plans on Monday, saying, “I have not opposed necessary policies such as financial spending. I just did not want to implement inaccurate stimulation measures.”

His comment came at a Cheong Wa Dae meeting with his senior secretaries and advisors after Presidential Senior Secretary for Policy Planning Kim Yeong-ju’s briefing on an “extensive investment promotion plan for economic stimulation.” Presidential spokesperson Kim Jong-min revealed that the president reemphasized the government’s policy of paying all efforts on boosting investment and spending.

Mr. Roh asked attendees to “try to keep the basis of policy consistency.”

The senior secretary also briefed the president on the summary of the “Korean version of the New Deal Project,” referred by Lee Hun-jai, the deputy prime minister and minister of Finance and Economy, on Friday, which included the large-scale development of new corporate towns, extended construction demand, additional consumer spending on projects such as Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) on leisure and tourism, and increased investments in research and development (R & D) and facilities.

Upon Roh’s comment, spokesman Kim added, “In early July when we discussed economic strategies for the second half of this year, the president had already ordered us to come up with measures on revitalizing investments and spending on a government-wide basis. His comment is line with what he ordered last July.”

Jung-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com