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President Lee Jae-myung speaks during the ninth meeting with senior secretaries and aides at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, on September 4. / Source: Yonhap News

President Lee Jae-myung on September 4 ordered a sweeping reassessment of South Korea’s industrial policy, saying the nation’s manufacturing base must adapt to new global challenges “from A to Z.”

Speaking at the ninth meeting with senior secretaries and aides at the presidential office in Yongsan, Lee stressed that Korea can no longer rely on past formulas for success. “We must move beyond the strategy of simply following faster and better than others,” he said. “We should lead the way into areas where others have not yet reached.”

Lee said ministries should work together on a “K-Manufacturing Leap Forward Strategy” that integrates reforms across finance, taxation, regulation, and labor to foster new growth engines. He emphasized three pillars: embracing the AI-driven transformation, nurturing next-generation industries, and restructuring vulnerable sectors.

According to presidential spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung, the strategy aims to position Korea among the world’s top four manufacturing powers, with focus areas including semiconductors, secondary batteries, automobiles, shipbuilding, and biotech. Lee added that defense, space, and satellite communications must also be included as core engines for future growth.

Lee also called for nationwide efforts to improve AI literacy. He suggested expanding specialized high schools for science and AI in regional areas, linking talent development with balanced regional growth.

Ahead of the Chuseok holiday, Lee ordered reforms in distribution channels to stabilize household food prices, pointing to inefficiencies in the agricultural and fisheries supply chain. “We must prevent instability in the prices of key holiday goods from spreading,” he said, urging ministries to take “meticulous and preemptive measures.”

The president also addressed recent data breaches at telecom and financial firms, criticizing weak responses and repeated lapses. “Some companies were hacked multiple times in the same way,” he said. He instructed authorities to prepare punitive fines against firms with recurring security failures and to strengthen systems for protecting personal data.