President Yoon Suk Yeol on Dec. 15 held an inaugural conference for checking major national tasks at Yeongbingwan, the guesthouse at the former presidential compound of Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul.

Chaired by the president, the event began at 2 p.m., exceeded the scheduled running time of 100 minutes and was broadcast live for 160 minutes.

This is the second meeting chaired by President Yoon to be aired live after his 11th emergency meeting on economy and livelihood on Oct. 27.

In his introductory speech, he said, "National tasks are our government's standards for administration and a pledge to the people."

"We must evaluate and inspect them before the year is over," he said in explaining the background for hosting the meeting.

The themes of the conference were "economy and public livelihood," "vision and strategy for the provincial era," and "three reform tasks (pension, labor and education)."

President Yoon called the three tasks "not optional but essential," adding, "Reform is unpopular but must be done without fail."

A panel of civilians selected by recommendations from each government branch surrounded the president at the conference. The head of each ministry sat interspersed with the panelists.

Sectors not discussed at the meeting such as diplomacy, national security, and agriculture and forestry will be covered at the second edition slated for the first half of next year.

Korea.net