President Moon Jae-in has vowed to generate tangible policy effects this year, but said it will take time for fundamental changes resulting from economic policies to take root.

The president spoke at an event for small and medium-sized enterprises(SME) in Seoul on Tuesday hosted by the Korea Federation of SMEs.

He said that overall, the South Korean economy was moving toward success and that SMEs were doing a terrific job.

He added that policy achievements may not be noticeable immediately, explaining that a gap exists between statistics and what is felt on the ground.

Moon said that his administration presented a policy direction for the economy in its first year and geared up to build an innovative and inclusive country in the second year. In the third year, he vowed to produce palpable results.

The president said the government has worked to place SMEs at the front and center of the economy and fundamentally change the related policy framework.

He added that this year alone, the administration plans to use nearly 22 trillion won in budgetary support for one-thousand-653 projects that will directly assist SMEs.