Senior officials from the presidential office, the government and the ruling party discussed ways to improve the livelihoods of ordinary people during their first joint meeting of the new year Tuesday.
The meeting came as President Moon Jae-in pledged to make "tangible" outcomes with his embattled income-led growth policy this year amid an economic slowdown and sluggish job growth.
"Ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, the president is listening to what ordinary people are saying and the prime minister has visited the sites (related to their livelihoods)," Lee Hae-chan, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), said at the start of the meeting.
This year's holiday falls on Feb. 5. Lunar New Year's Day is one of the country's biggest traditional holidays, along with Chuseok, the South Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving Day.
"It is fortunate that their moves are viewed by the people as an act that focuses on reviving their livelihoods," he added.
The DP chief said his party will make efforts to handle key bills on the economy, including a proposal aimed at supporting smaller merchants during an extraordinary parliamentary session in February.
Kim Soo-hyun, senior secretary to the president for policy, vowed efforts to bolster the economy as downside risks on the global economy are growing.
"We will come up with measures to overhaul key manufacturing sectors and support private firms in seeking (innovation) and creativity with a set of deregulation measures known as the so-called regulatory sandbox program," he added.