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President Lee Jae-myung speaks during a senior presidential secretariat meeting at the Yongsan presidential office in Seoul on November 27. / Yonhap News

President Lee Jae-myung on Thursday called on the ruling and opposition blocs to ensure that next year’s budget is passed within the legal deadline, stressing bipartisan cooperation and urging his administration to actively incorporate reasonable proposals raised by the opposition.

Presiding over his first senior secretariat meeting since returning from trips to the Middle East and Africa, Lee emphasized that rapid approval of the budget is essential to accelerating the recovery of the domestic economy and supporting “a major national leap forward” in the coming year.

“If the opposition’s arguments have sufficient merit, they should be adopted without hesitation,” he said. “As long as there are no excessive or unreasonable cuts, many of their requests can be meaningfully accommodated.”

Lee underscored that national strength ultimately stems from unity among the people. Reflecting on his recent foreign itinerary, he said Korea cannot afford to drain its capabilities through needless internal confrontation, especially at a time of intensifying geopolitical competition.

“Even if we compete on many issues, it should be fair competition—competition to be more humble, to serve more diligently,” he said. “What matters is minimizing unnecessary waste of our own capacity.”

The president reiterated that the ultimate aim of all diplomatic activity is to improve citizens’ quality of life. He said his administration will continue pursuing pragmatic, interest-focused diplomacy grounded in multilayered global partnerships across artificial intelligence, advanced science and technology, defense industries, and K-culture.

Reviewing the administration’s first six months—from the G7 Summit and the UN General Assembly to ASEAN, the G20, and his Middle East–Africa tour—Lee said Korea’s diplomatic standing had “clearly strengthened,” crediting the public for its support.

Lee instructed government ministries to quickly produce comprehensive action plans to build on recent diplomatic achievements. He also urged the presidential secretariat to coordinate closely with relevant agencies.

Regarding the United Arab Emirates, Lee said the country should serve as a “strategic base” for Korean expansion into the Middle East. He also directed aides to review the establishment of a Korean-style international school in the UAE and to seek solutions to problems related to Türkiye’s electronic travel authorization system, according to spokesperson Kang Yu-jung.

The president further called for ways to ensure that the benefits of economic diplomacy flow not only to large conglomerates but also to small and medium-sized companies and startups. He proposed hosting competitions or innovation challenges to generate ideas that could boost the defense and defense-industrial sectors.