President Lee says more attention should be paid to newly impoverished

By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak Thursday called for special
attention to be paid to those who have fallen to the lowest financial rung due to
the ongoing economic downturn, but remained upbeat about overcoming the crisis in
less than two years.
Those hit by the economic crisis may find it hard to get the help they are
entitled to and will also suffer from emotional challenges, the president said
while visiting a help hotline center. Government assistance should focus on
helping them find jobs rather than providing free handouts, he said.
"The economic conditions will become especially difficult this year. It is a
relief that the government has been working to prepare for the difficult times
since last year...but we still have a large number of people becoming
impoverished," the president said.
Lee has been hosting weekly meetings of a special economic council, established
as a flagship in the upward battle against the economic slowdown, and Thursday's
visit to the center marked the first time the council meeting was held outside of
the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.
Lee's field visit was apparently prompted by a letter he received from an
elementary school student whose mother, a 53-year-old unemployed single parent,
was unable to receive social welfare payments solely because she owns a van less
than 10 years old, according to Cheong Wa Dae officials.
"The mother and the daughter currently live in a basement, and they say they have
nowhere else to go once they are evicted in a few days. The law says her van must
be more than 10 years old (for her to be eligible for welfare benefits), and this
means there are many loopholes in what we do," the president said.
The on-site session "aims to encourage swift implementation of measures by
showing that the president could personally visit work sites at any time and
inspect how things are moving," a Cheong Wa Dae official said, adding the
president plans to make field inspections at least once a month.
Lee noted the health-welfare call center, through its advices and administrative
support to the people, was helping create jobs.
"The most important issues are providing support for the poor and creating jobs,
and you are tasked with one of these two most important jobs," Lee told workers
at the center in Pyeongchon, a satellite city just south of Seoul.
"If we have hope and we face the challenges, the difficult times will not last
too many years. It is not because of us (that we are having difficult times), the
entire world is facing difficulties, but for us it will only be one or two years
at the longest," he said.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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