A fourth President-led emergency economic council convened with the theme "job sharing" at Cheongwadae Thursday (Jan. 29).

The Korea Development Institute, an autonomous economic policy think tank, said in a briefing to the council that the global economic recession is worsening as evidenced by the IMF''s recent revised estimate of world economic growth down from 2.2 percent to 0.5 percent. The Korean economy could see larger negative economic growth than previously expected, affected by sagging growth in advanced economies, the briefing added.

Minister of Strategy and Finance Kang Man-soo said the world economy seems to be going from bad to worse, pointing out that the IMF has revised the world economic growth rate as many as five times since last year. Special Economic Advisor SaKong Il seconded Kang''s words, saying that economic optimism is losing ground to pessimism these days.

Chief Grand National Party policymaker Yim Tae-hee said that people should not fluctuate between joy and grief at economic indicators, and emphasized Korea''s record of overcoming the minus 6.9 percent of growth during 1997-98 foreign exchange crisis.

President Lee asked the ranking officials at the meeting not to merely fiddle with numbers but to get fully prepared for the worst-case economic scenario.

Lee also gave high marks to the joint suggestion by the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korea Employers Federation to launch an emergency labor-union meeting, and urged the government to actively partake in such a meeting.

The President also said that public and banking enterprises should take the lead in the recent "job sharing" efforts.

A CEO of a small-sized auto parts company was also at the fourth emergency council to tell of his company''s experience of overcoming economic difficulties. He said his employees during the 1997-98 crisis gave their bonuses back to the faltering company in efforts to save it. The workers have lately agreed again to the company''s proposal to cut their bonuses under the shared understanding that now is more difficult than 10 years ago. The account was much appreciated by the ranking officials at the meeting, Cheongwadae said.

President Lee is scheduled to appear on a private broadcasting company''s round-table discussion program for the first time since he took office, according to Cheongwadae. On the show, titled "Dialog with the President" scheduled for Friday (Jan. 30), Lee will touch upon his government''s economic stimulus plans, social integration schemes and policy implementation for his second year in office, along with various experts, the presidential office said.