President Yoon Suk Yeol called to break the "thick concrete wall" that stands between the government and the public during the government's first session of policy briefings for the new year.

At the start of the session on the economy related to people's livelihoods on Thursday, Yoon said that if the public has yet to feel the effects of an improvement in macro indicators, there were likely insufficiencies in the government's policy enforcement.

Forecasting an overall recovery in exports this year, leading to a higher growth compared to that of major economies, Yoon said inflation is expected to be stable in the one-percent range, with further improvement in employment.

As for the existing temporary ban on short selling, aimed at preventing damages incurred by individual investors, the president said the ban would be lifted upon the establishment of an electronic system that fully mitigates side effects.

Finance minister Choi Sang-mok briefed the president on spending a budget of eleven trillion won, or around eight-point-four billion U.S. dollars, in the agriculture, fisheries and energy sectors to help stabilize inflation in the two-percent range.

A package of support measures for small business owners and the self-employed was announced to help ease their utility, interest and tax burdens.

The policy briefing was followed by a debate involving a group of small business owners, homemakers and young people, where they expressed worries over increasing living expenses from prolonged high interests and inflation.