President of the Republic of Korea Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday that boosting productivity through advanced technologies is the most feasible way to achieve sustained economic growth, as his country struggles with widening disparities and entrenched inequality.
Lee, speaking to China Media Group ahead of his first state visit to China since taking office, acknowledged that economic polarization has become the most serious challenge facing society in the ROK. He pointed out that the root cause lies in stagnant growth.
"Among the many challenges our society faces today, the most serious is economic polarization. As disparities widen markedly and inequality becomes deeply entrenched, people face growing hardships, and social conflicts intensify. There are a number of factors behind this trend, but it is fundamentally caused by a lack of opportunities on account of stagnant growth," said Lee.
The president added that restoring hope requires growth that is lasting rather than fleeting and that technology-driven productivity gains are the clearest route forward.
"Therefore, I believe that the most important task in terms of minimizing social conflicts in the country and restoring hope for the people is, ultimately, to achieve economic growth that is not temporary but sustained and evolving. Various factors drive sustained economic development, but at this stage, the most feasible approach is to improve productivity by investing in advanced technologies," Lee continued.
ROK president says tech investment key to sustained growth
The United States cannot legitimize an operation that attacked Venezuela and captured its president, a Chinese scholar said Sunday.
On Saturday, the United States launched a large-scale strike on Venezuela, during which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were 'captured and flown out of Venezuela' according to a post by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account.
Teng Jianqun, director of the Center for Diplomatic Studies at Hunan Normal University, said in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) that the aim of this operation is to take full control of Venezuela’s natural resources.
"I don't think the United States can legitimize this operation to take custody of the president of Venezuela. And also I don't think the United States can legitimize its any action in taking the oil reserves of that country. This is actually a very dangerous game played by the Trump administration. And of course, the United States would like to take full control of that country and to take full control of the natural resources, especially the large reserve of oil in Venezuela," said Teng.
Teng said Venezuela is not an isolated case but a common practice by the United States. The United States launched an invasion of Panama on Dec. 20, 1989, which continued until January 1990, with the stated objective of capturing Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega on charges of drug trafficking and organized crime.
"We still remember the so-called sentence of the former president of Panama in the late 1980s. And this time, the president of Venezuela will be under some judicial condition (judicial proceedings) for the so-called drug trafficking and some other crimes. So I think this is not a single case for the Venezuela country, but also this is actually a practice by the United States -- to use force, to use so-called justice under law against any leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean waters," he said.
US cannot legitimize operation against Venezuela: Chinese scholar
