President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting with his senior secretaries at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap)


Returning from China, President Lee Jae Myung plunged into a tightly packed domestic schedule aimed at resetting Korea’s growth strategy and advancing regional 황금성릴게임 integration plans, even as political pressure mounts in the National Assembly.
Back at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday, Lee formally resumed official duties by chairing a meeting of senior preside 사이다릴게임 ntial aides.
Lee laid out three priorities: pragmatic, national-interest diplomacy; governance measured by tangible improvements in people’s daily lives; and preparation for an AI- and energ 사이다쿨접속방법 y-driven transition as the engine of sustainable growth and a determinant of the nation’s future.
The closed-door session, held under the theme “a great national leap through artificial inte 릴게임몰 lligence,” focused on building an AI innovation ecosystem and an AI-driven growth strategy to lift Korea’s long-term economic potential.
“The meeting discussed a comprehensive strategy to tu 바다신릴게임 rn AI into both a growth engine for society and a part of everyday infrastructure, including expanding foundational infrastructure and identifying new industries,” presidential spokesperson Kim Nam-joon said at a briefing afterward.
Cheong Wa Dae said Lee will convene leaders from small but competitive firms and startups at an event titled the “2026 Economic Growth Strategy National Briefing” on Friday afternoon to discuss concrete steps for a bold overhaul of the country’s growth strategy.
Just before, the president will host Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers representing Gwangju and South Jeolla Province for a luncheon at Cheong Wa Dae on Friday to discuss his flagship regional integration initiative.
The meeting was scheduled as the initiative gained traction following a joint push by Gwangju Mayor Kang Gi-jung and South Jeolla Province Gov. Kim Yeong-rok. The two formally declared their intent to pursue integration at the May 18 National Cemetery in Gwangju on Jan. 2.
The regional push aligns with Lee’s vision of “five megaregions and three special self-governing provinces,” a sweeping plan for balanced national development.
Under the framework, South Korea would be reorganized into five regional blocs: the Seoul metropolitan area, which includes Incheon and Gyeonggi Province; the southeastern industrial belt, comprising Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province; the Daegu-North Gyeongsang region; the central Chungcheong region; and the Honam region comprising Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces. Each would be governed by a special interregional authority.
Lee has also pledged to strengthen autonomy and competitiveness on Jeju Island and in the Gangwon and North Jeolla provinces through revised special laws.



President Lee Jae Myung presides over a meeting of senior presidential aides at the Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday. (Yonhap)



Political headwinds at home

But the Lee administration’s domestic drive faces headwinds in the National Assembly.
At the center of the political storm is Lee Hye-hoon, the nominee for minister of planning and budget, as her confirmation hearing approaches.
President Lee's pick, a three-term lawmaker and former member of conservative parties that preceded the People Power Party, has been cast by Cheong Wa Dae as a gesture of cross-party unity.
However, allegations over her treatment of aides at the National Assembly, rapid asset accumulation, and preferential treatment for her children ? including alleged favoritism in securing an internship ? have kept the nominee under sustained scrutiny.
Public opinion has tilted against the appointment. A National Barometer Survey released Thursday, which polled 1,005 adults aged 18 and older from Monday to Wednesday, showed that 42 percent of respondents thought the nomination was the “wrong decision,” compared with 35 percent who said it was the right call.
The Democratic Party has also been rocked by allegations that illicit money was raised during its candidate nominations for the 2022 local elections.
The main opposition People Power Party on Wednesday introduced a bill seeking a special counsel probe into claims involving Reps. Kim Byung-kee ? who has stepped down as floor leader ? and Kang Sun-woo, who was expelled from the party. The bill also lists President Lee as a potential subject of investigation, alleging that a petition related to the case reached Lee’s office when he was party leader.
During the morning meeting, Lee briefed senior aides on his China trip.
"This visit laid a solid foundation for a full restoration of Korea-China relations and established a strong platform to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation across the economy and culture," Lee said.
At his second summit with President Xi Jinping, Lee agreed to hold leader-level meetings annually and to institutionalize regular high-level dialogue across economic and security channels, including on sensitive issues such as China’s unilateral installation of structures in the jointly managed zone in the West Sea.
The two leaders also agreed to work toward a gradual reopening of cultural and content exchanges to ease negative public sentiment, and Lee urged China to play a constructive role in bringing North Korea back to the negotiating table.
Following the summit, the sides signed 14 memorandums of understanding spanning trade and investment, science and technology, the digital sector, intellectual property, and food and quarantine measures.
Lee also met Zhao Leji, chair of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, and Premier Li Qiang ? China’s second- and third-highest-ranking officials ? for talks and a working luncheon.
Additionally, Lee leveraged the Korea-China business forum in Beijing, backed by a roughly 200-member delegation that included the heads of Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor Group and LG, as well as a venture-and-startup summit in Shanghai, to pitch expanded economic cooperation.