Lee, top officials to hold brainstorming workshop

(ATTN: ADDS details in paras 9-10)
SEOUL, June 17 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak, all Cabinet ministers and their deputies were to kick off a brainstorming meeting Friday to discuss revitalizing small businesses and boosting domestic demand as a way of improving the economic situation of the mid- and lower-income classes.
The two-day meeting, set to open Friday afternoon, also includes a session on how to tighten discipline among government officials in the wake of a series of revelations of corruption that have dealt a blow to Lee's campaign to make South Korea a fairer society.
Boosting the livelihood of mid- and lower-income people and fighting corruption are on Lee's main policy agenda for his fourth and second-to-last year in office because ordinary people perceive the fruits of the country's economic growth to be out of their reach.
Lee, a former construction CEO, took office in early 2008 on a wave of hope that he would boost South Korea's economy. But the 2008 global financial meltdown set back his economic agenda, though the country recovered from the financial crisis earlier than others.
Despite good showings in major economic indicators, ordinary people have long complained of the country's persistent economic slump and difficulties in making ends meet. Critics say such perceptions led in part to the ruling Grand National Party's humiliating defeat in April's by-elections.
The stunning defeat led the ruling party to devise a series of populist measures to woo voters back ahead of next year's crucial parliamentary and presidential elections, including proposals to drastically slash high college tuition fees and withdraw tax cuts for conglomerates.
The government-wide conference is also an opportunity to strengthen the bond among top officials after a series of personnel reshuffles in recent months. A total of 88 top officials will attend the meeting, including Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, all heads of government ministries, their deputies and senior presidential secretaries.
Friday's opening session will focus on how to boost domestic demand, enliven traditional markets and help small- and medium-sized firms expand sales and create more jobs. The evening session will be about boosting medical tours and other tourism projects, the presidential office said in a release.
The finance and culture ministries plan to report at the meeting that they will consider temporarily halting financial compensation for unused vacation days at government offices and public firms to encourage more workers to take vacation and spur tourism and domestic demand, officials said.
Other proposals include scattering vacation periods at elementary, middle and high schools, instead of all schools having vacation periods around the same time, in order to keep domestic demand high for a longer period of time, the officials said.
Saturday's meeting will be about strengthening discipline in the officialdom, it said.
In each session, participants will break into smaller groups for discussions after a keynote presentation, the release said.
"The outcome of discussions will be embodied as policy tasks that will be announced as part of the economic policy directions of the second half of the year," the office said.
jschang@yna.co.kr