President Yoon: “The era of high prices that has continued for years is coming to an end”

President Yoon Seok-yeol archive photo. (Photo, Office of the President)

President Yoon Seok-yeol said, “There are signs that the era of high prices and high interest rates that has continued for years is coming to an end.”

President Yoon said this at a Cabinet meeting held at the Blue House in Yongsan, Seoul the previous day (the 24th) regarding the decision by the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to lower the base interest rate by 0.5%p for the first time in 4 years and 6 months, saying, “It is evaluated that the monetary policy that maintained high interest rates to respond to global inflation has reached a turning point.”

President Yoon said, “The (domestic) consumer price inflation rate has been in the 2% range for five consecutive months, and in August in particular, it fell to 2.0%, the lowest level in three years and five months.”

He then predicted, “If global security and supply chain instability do not increase in the future, prices are expected to remain stable at around 2%.”

He also said, “This year’s exports increased by 9.9% compared to the previous year, leading economic growth.”

President Yoon said, “Although the international economic situation is changing and our economy is also recovering, the people’s perception of the economy is not recovering easily due to accumulated high prices and high interest rates,” and added, “We need to make more detailed efforts so that the warmth of the economic recovery can reach every corner and be felt by the people.”

President Yoon also criticized the government for “spreading groundless rumors, saying, ‘This is dumping, this is a deficit order,'” regarding the recent state visit to the Czech Republic to win a bid for a new nuclear power plant construction project, saying, “Some in the political world are spreading rumors that this is dumping, this is a deficit order,” and “Do we really need to obstruct and block the companies and their partner companies who are risking their lives and the government supporting them?”

He also diagnosed that the so-called ’emergency room rush’ was due to the collapse of essential medical care. President Yoon said, “If you look at the cases of delayed transport and ’emergency room rush’ during this Chuseok holiday, most of them were patients with grafting, premature birth, newborns, and cardiovascular diseases,” and “the fundamental cause is the absolute shortage of essential medical specialists to handle follow-up treatment.”

He emphasized, “The essential medical care has gradually collapsed due to the unresolved issues of an absolute shortage of specialists, unfair compensation for doctors providing essential medical care for critically ill patients, and excessive legal risks.” He continued, “This is precisely why our government is pursuing medical reform. The government will do everything it can to increase the number of doctors and unwaveringly pursue medical reform so that the people can receive high-quality medical services without worry, anytime, anywhere.”

JIBS Jeju Broadcasting Reporter Shin Dong-won ([e-mail])

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