Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Thursday the government is searching for new growth engines for the South Korean economy in the drive for innovation, and promised to accelerate efforts on deregulation.

During a meeting with nationwide corporate CEOs held at a Seoul hotel, the prime minister pointed out that the country faces challenging conditions this year, too.

He mentioned slowing economic growth in Korea's key trade partners --- China, the U.S., Europe and Japan --- and that prospects were still unclear over the U.S.-China trade war.

Lee said while the domestic economy is affected by external factors, it also needs to address internal issues.

The prime minister said the government was expanding support for strategic innovative projects, and unveiled plans to invest ten trillion won in three sectors in particular over the next five years: the data industry, artificial intelligence and hydrogen economy.

He noted that the new regulatory "sandbox" rule which exempts regulatory hurdles for new products and services for a certain period of time took effect last week in the fields of information communications and industrial convergence. 

He added the sandbox rule will also apply to the finance sector and special regional districts starting April.