President Lee Jae-myung and Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership during their summit.
The two nations will establish a hotline for citizen protection and pursue a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for police cooperation.
They also pledged close cooperation on regional and international issues, including the Korean Peninsula and Korea-ASEAN relations.
President Lee Jae-myung emphasized the importance of the first budget for the AI era in his 2026 budget speech.
Next year’s government R&D budget has been set at approximately 35.5 trillion won, the largest ever.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to allocate 261.7 billion won for R&D in the agricultural sector, focusing on smart agriculture and green bio.
There have been criticisms that sufficient support has not been provided to victims of the Gyeongbuk wildfire.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety stated that they will continuously manage the recovery and support efforts to ensure they are carried out swiftly.
The government announced that officials will visit the 2,415 households currently in temporary housing to address any inconveniences until they can move out.
President Lee Jae-myung stressed the importance of transparent governance to the public.
He explained the reason for live broadcasting the government briefing at the Sejong Government Complex.
He also promised special rewards for dedicated and successful public officials.
The government has decided to add superconductors, K-bio, K-digital healthcare, and K-content to its ultra-innovative economy project.
On the 16th, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance held a meeting to announce the fourth implementation plan.
With this announcement, all 20 tasks of the 15 leading ultra-innovative economy projects have been confirmed.
The government plans to invest 4.5 trillion won by 2030 to expand overseas public-supported logistics centers to 40 locations.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced the global logistics supply chain hub strategy, aiming to strengthen the roles of port and maritime promotion corporations.
The ministry will focus on expanding logistics infrastructure in key overseas locations and establishing a support system for logistics companies’ overseas expansion.
