Seoul: President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday called for removing unnecessary and outdated regulations to promote new businesses while urging efforts to ensure global competitiveness. Lee made the remarks at an inaugural meeting of the presidential committee tasked with rationalizing regulations, attended by officials from related ministries, senior presidential aides, and experts.

According to Yonhap News Agency, President Lee emphasized that the most crucial method to restore the growth potential of the Korean economy is through regulatory rationalization. He advocated for the elimination of unnecessary and inefficient regulations in line with global standards and proposed transitioning regulatory systems in cutting-edge industries toward a negative framework. This negative-style regulation allows activities unless explicitly prohibited by law, which he believes is essential to spur innovation amid rapidly evolving technologies.

President Lee underscored the importance of securing global competitiveness for the Korean economy, which heavily relies on trade. He pointed out the adverse effects of resource overconcentration in the Seoul metropolitan area and suggested creating large-scale regulatory special zones to foster innovation and balanced regional development. Lee expressed concern that this concentration lowers resource distribution efficiency and undermines national competitiveness.