President Lee calls for 'aggressive' investment, job creation

By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, April 7 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak Tuesday urged businesses to
increase their investment, saying the ongoing economic crisis cannot be overcome
through people's sacrifices alone.
"I hope that businesses can move up their investment plans once the outlook for
the second quarter improves. That is what will create jobs," Lee was quoted as
saying while meeting with heads of the country's major business organizations.
The president has repeatedly called on the business sector to make "aggressive"
investments, while appealing to workers to help ease the burden of an
"unprecedented economic crisis" by cutting wages and sharing jobs.
"We can only keep and make so many jobs without new investment," the president
was quoted as saying by his spokesman Lee Dong-kwan.
The former CEO-turned-president noted the crisis, however, could also provide an
opportunity for employers to "correct" or eliminate excessive-pay positions to
regain their price competitiveness.
The South Korean economy, the world's 13th largest, shrank 5.1 percent in the
last quarter of 2008, the largest contraction in over a decade, as the global
economic and financial crisis cut deeply into its trade.
The country's exports decreased by 34.2 percent in January from a year before,
but the decrease slowed to 18.3 percent in February and 21.2 percent last month,
according to data released by the Korea Development Institute.
"Our exports are all right so far even amid the economic crisis because of the
strong dollar, but the conditions may change once the foreign exchange market
stabilizes," the president said.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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