President Lee Myung-bak visited the Health and Welfare Call Center in Gyeonggi-do (province) Thursday (Feb. 5) and made a field inspection there.

Lee''s visit followed the fifth economic emergency council held at the Gwacheon Government Complex, located in the same province.

At the welfare center, the President reviewed with key government officials the plans to enhance public welfare, announced on Jan. 22, and discussed follow-up plans.

The trip is meaningful in that the President is directly checking policy implementation out in the field, Cheong Wa Dae said. President Lee will make such a visit every month with the aim of galvanizing the government''s welfare and economic policies, it added.

After the meeting with the officials, President Lee held an informal gathering with call center staff and encouraged them in their hard work in difficult times.

The President also had one-on-one telephone conversations with callers as a one-day phone counselor. Through the conversations, Lee emphasized that people should care for each other in the current economic slump, and that they should get ready to change the economic slowdown into an opportunity.