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President Lee Jae-myung speaks during a drought countermeasures meeting at the disaster and safety control center of Gangneung City Hall on August 30. / Presidential Office Press Corps

President Lee Jae-myung said Sunday he would “focus on people’s livelihoods and the economy for the time being,” pledging to ease hardships and seek new engines of growth.

After weeks of back-to-back summits with Japan and the United States, Lee is now turning the weight of state affairs toward reviving growth, creating jobs, boosting domestic demand, and stabilizing prices.

This week, he plans to chair cabinet and senior aides’ meetings centered on “national growth strategy” and a “great transition for K-manufacturing,” stressing both industrial revival and the search for future drivers.

At a briefing, senior presidential secretary for public affairs Lee Kyu-yeon said, “Right after the Korea-U.S. summit, the president stressed that he will now concentrate on domestic economic issues.”

On September 2, Lee will preside over a cabinet meeting broadcast live, where ministries such as finance, industry, and science will report and engage in in-depth discussion. On September 4, he will lead a senior aides’ meeting focused on manufacturing, examining industrial policies and financial support measures.

Later in the week, he will host an innovation forum on the bio industry—aiming to elevate it to the level of semiconductors—and resume regional town hall meetings.

Lee resumed livelihood-focused visits immediately after returning from overseas, traveling to Gangneung on August 30 to inspect drought-hit areas. Touring reservoirs and leading a drought response meeting, he ordered officials to mobilize “all available resources to minimize damage and inconvenience.” That evening, the interior ministry declared a disaster situation in the city.

Meanwhile, the presidential office confirmed ongoing talks to arrange a meeting with People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk. While Jang is pushing for a one-on-one session, observers expect the two sides to soon agree on format and agenda, following Lee’s remark in Washington that dialogue with the opposition leader was “natural and necessary.”