President Lee Jae-myung (center) arrives at a community center in Paju, northwest of Seoul, for a meeting with residents living in the border area on Friday. (Yonhap)
President Lee Jae-myung (center) arrives at a community center in Paju, northwest of Seoul, for a meeting with residents living in the border area on Friday. (Yonhap)

The presidential state affairs committee will create a separate task force for government reorganization, focusing on building a more competent and effective government structure to better address key policy tasks, the committee chief said Monday.

Lee Han-joo, chief of the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee, made the remarks as the committee set sail as an effective transition team for the Lee Jae-myung government to present a blueprint for policy initiatives and action plans for the five-year term.

"A separate task force will be formed to develop a well-refined government reorganization plan," Lee said in the opening remarks at the launch ceremony.

The reorganization will be aimed at redistributing overly centralized powers and responsibilities, improving administrative efficiency to help South Korea develop as a global leader in artificial intelligence and reforming institutions to better respond to climate change, among others, Lee said.

"We will discuss a range of reform agendas aimed at improving our society, including mid- to long-term tax and fiscal reform plans, and strive to come up with concrete solutions," Lee said.

The committee came as Lee assumed office June 4 without the usual two-month transition period as an early election was held to choose the successor to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office in April over his brief imposition of martial law.

The 55-member committee, led by Lee's close aides, will be debriefed by each ministry on main policy agendas and budget plans before it presents a road map for 100 major policy tasks for the government and sets timelines and goals for each plan.

Lee pledged to promptly establish the direction and key policy initiatives of the new government, and to make sure steady progress for long-term initiatives that would shape the country's future, such as climate change.

The launch event began with the unveiling of the official plaque, followed by the conferral of appointment certificates to the committee's leadership.

Aside from Lee, former head of the Gyeonggi Research Institute, the deputy chiefs include Kim Yong-beom, senior presidential secretary for policy; Jin Sung-joon, policy chief of the ruling Democratic Party; and Bang Ki-sun, minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination.

The committee will have seven sectoral subcommittees under its wing, including state affairs planning, economy, social, political and administrative, and foreign and security affairs.

The committee will operate under a 60-day legal mandate, with a possible extension of up to 20 days. A white paper detailing its outcomes must be released within 30 days of completing its activities. (Yonhap)