President Yoon Suk-yeol said today (31st) that "social security services themselves should be marketized and industrialized and a competitive system should be introduced."

In his remarks at the Social Security Strategy Meeting held at the Blue House Guest House this morning, President Yoon said, "If you distribute money uniformly, you are just spending money."

President Yoon first premised that "cash welfare should be selective welfare and welfare for the weak, not universal welfare."

"Cash welfare really should be provided to the weakest in society," he said, adding, "Even if we provide cash flow, we should use vouchers."

Even in the case of universal welfare, he said, "We need to achieve some balance by doing a little more for those who are lacking and a little less for those who are less deficient."

President Yoon pointed out that "social security beyond what we can afford eats away at our society itself."

Regarding the direction of the development of social services, he said, "We can improve productivity through an appropriate system of competition, and in doing so, gradually improve the compensation system for service workers."

In particular, he introduced a virtuous cycle in which defense spending leads to the development of the defense industry and then to an increase in defense spending, saying, "The same logic is true for social security and social welfare services."

President Yoon also said, "There are about 1,1 welfare projects in the center and 3,14 in the provinces, and the people don't even know about them."

He emphasized, "By simplifying this, we can not only eliminate what the public does not know and cannot use, but also make it possible to further improve the quality of service and drive growth."

President Yoon added, "We need to rationally integrate (welfare projects) and create a proper market."

Collaboration between ministries was also reiterated.

"Public officials should be judged on the basis of whether they are helpful to the people and national interests," Yoon said, noting that "if they judge themselves based on their own self-centeredness and their own ministries, they are corrupt."

He also took aim at the Buddha's egoism, saying, "I see such things as worse people than those who take bribes."

The meeting was designed to review the direction of social security policies and to spread the welfare philosophy and keynote of the Yoon Suk-yeol government, the presidential office explained.

In a press release, the President's Office said, "Prime Minister Han Duck-so and the Social Security Commission will prepare and implement specific measures, which will serve as the basis for the '9rd Basic Plan for Social Security' currently being formulated."

The meeting was attended by more than 50 people, including Prime Minister Han, heads and deputy ministers of <> ministries, civilian members of nine social security-related committees, House Majority Leader Yoon Jae-ok of the People's Power, and Chairman of the Policy Committee Park Loan.

(Photo = Office of the President's Press Photojournalist, Yonhap News Agency)