By Park Hye Riand Lee Jihae

President Moon Jae-in on Oct. 17 stressed the government's role in stimulating the economy and stabilizing the people's livelihood and urged collective efforts to those ends.

Chairing a meeting of economy-related ministers at Seoul Government Complex, the chief executive warned of how Korea, a country heavily reliant on other countries for its manufacturing base, faces a negative impact from the global economic slowdown.

"The government needs to strike a balance and do its best to stimulate the economy and stabilize the people's livelihood," he said.

This is the first time that the president chaired a meeting of economy-related ministers since taking office in 2017.

To respond to the global economic slowdown and the ensuing decrease in exports and investment, he said the government should "strengthen its support for export industries and promote private investment."

Stressing the importance of investment, he said his administration will strive to create an environment conducive to corporate investment by speeding up regulatory innovation and support for investment. He also asked the ministers to focus on attracting investment in the sectors of construction, education, welfare, culture and social overhead capital.

On responding to Japan's export restrictions on Korea, the president said intra-government cooperation was a great help in strengthening the competitiveness of the materials and component industries, and also encouraged continued interest in pan-government collaboration.

hrhr@korea.kr