Fellow Koreans,

The New Year of 2016 has dawned.

In the Year of the Red Monkey, a symbol of creativity and wisdom, I hope every one of us will pool our creative enthusiasm and wisdom to make the New Year full of hope and vitality.

Notwithstanding many difficulties and challenges during the past year, Korea has been able to lay the groundwork for moving ahead toward a time of change and hope, thanks to your confidence and support.

Based on this, the Government will continue to exert its best efforts to lead the country to take a vigorous leap forward and to make sure that all our fellow citizens will be able to reap the fruits of progress.

The Government will also endeavor to successfully complete the Three-year Plan for Economic Innovation and ensure that the initiatives for a creative economy and cultural enrichment take firm root, thereby adding to the vitality in the nation's economy and creating more job opportunities.

By carrying out reforms in the four key areas of the public sector, labor, finance, and education, the Government will lay a solid foundation for growth in the next 30 years.

Strong security is the most fundamental basis of national development.

We will make stern responses to any North Korean provocation with a watertight defense posture while keeping the door for dialogue open, moving closer to an era of a peacefully united Korean Peninsula.

I ask all of you to join us to make a leap forward in the journey towards changes and innovation. I wish you and your families good health and happiness.

Happy New Year!