President Lee Jae Myung (center) on Feb. 3 speaks at a Cabinet meeting in Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul. (Cheong Wa Dae)

By Kim Hyelin

President Lee Jae Myung on Feb. 3 said "The government must fully concentrate its energy on a great transformation of the country into a startup-centric nation where anyone can easily start a business and succeed."

He said this at a Cabinet meeting in Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, adding, "In the artificial intelligence (AI) era, a society that considers challenge and failure as the basis for success can overcome crisis and seize bigger opportunities for prosperity."

"Exports last month exceeded USD 60 billion in a first for January," he said. "Overseas shipments of most key products rose and the trend of market diversification grew stronger."

"But for these improvements in indicators to lead to changes that the people can feel and improve their livelihoods, we need a strategy that goes beyond the traditional focus on large companies, the capital area and experienced workers."

"With the acceleration of the AI revolution, economic gains will increasingly get concentrated in the hands of a select few and the number of jobs will be structurally reduced," he added. "It's time to revamp our economic structure to broaden the depth and width of growth so that more people can freely take on business challenges and knock on the door of innovation."

"We need a lower threshold for entrepreneurship, groundbreaking institutional innovation and financial support so that anyone with an idea can launch a business," President Lee said. "We must especially review overall startup regulations from the ground up."

kimhyelin211@korea.kr