President Lee Jae Myung delivers his first budget speech at the National Assembly in Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap)
President Lee Jae Myung delivers his first budget speech at the National Assembly in Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap)

President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday that reviving people's livelihoods is the most pressing task as he delivered his first budget speech to parliament.

Lee was making a case for his administration's 20.2 trillion-won ($14.7 billion) extra budget proposal -- the second this year and the first since he took office -- which requires the National Assembly's approval.

"Rebuilding the collapsed economy and reviving people's livelihoods is the most pressing task we must tackle," he said before lawmakers. "If the current low growth continues, we will fall into a vicious cycle where the door of opportunity narrows and competition and conflict intensify."

Lee also called for bipartisanship in diplomacy.

"The only selection criterion should be whether it is in the national interest or not, and not whether it is liberal or conservative," he said. (Yonhap)