▲ President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on July 14, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

Lee-economic growth

Lee urges all-out efforts to boost potential growth rate to 3 pct

SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday called for efforts to increase the country's potential growth rate to 3 percent by stabilizing prices and fostering innovative growth engines.

Lee issued the call during a Cabinet meeting, citing a sharp increase in exports in the first half of the year, led by the semiconductor sector.

"There have been a series of forecasts that this year's real growth rate will reach 3 percent based on the remarkable export performance and increased capital investment," he said during the meeting at Cheong Wa Dae.

"We must gradually raise the potential growth rate to 3 percent by making all-out efforts to stabilize prices and the property market while fostering super-gap and game-changing growth engines," he added.

The call comes amid projections that the country's potential growth rate may fall to a record low of around 1.5 percent next year, with the country's central bank earlier forecasting the rate to fall to the zero percent range by the 2040s if left unaddressed.

The potential growth rate refers to the potential rate of increase in the gross domestic product (GDP) a country can sustain by fully utilizing labor, capital and other resources without triggering inflation.

Lee said the second half of the year will be critical to determining the next 30 years, making it necessary to accelerate the "grand economic transformation" in that period.

He called on Cabinet members to gather their strengths to ensure this year becomes the first year the country leaps toward the goals of a 3 percent potential growth rate, a top four world trade power and a per capita income of US$50,000.

Lee also shared the results of his participation last week in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit and his state visit to Mongolia.

He said there were "considerable achievements" in securing critical mineral supply chains and expanding cooperation in the defense and cutting-edge industries.

"For the Republic of Korea to make a greater leap and grow continually, there must be a more stable and peaceful world order to back it up," he said.

"Though the world order is extremely unstable at the moment, our government will fulfill its role and responsibilities unwaveringly as a global responsible power and based on our national interest-centered pragmatic diplomacy."

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