President Yoon Suk-yeol, right, receives a policy briefing from Land and Transport Minister Won Hee-ryong at the presidential office in Seoul, July 18. Yonhap

President Yoon Suk-yeol asked the land minister Monday to make housing stability and housing welfare his top priority tasks, his spokesperson said.

Land Minister Won Hee-ryong gave a policy briefing to Yoon as part of the first set of policy reports by government ministries to the president following his inauguration in May.

"The president asked that he pursue housing stability and housing welfare, which are the keys to the stability of people's livelihoods, as the top priority tasks," his spokesperson Kang In-sun told reporters.

Yoon also asked Won to ensure balanced growth across regions and ease commuter traffic by expanding transportation networks, including the Great Train Express (GTX) commuter rail networks, subways and expressways, Kang said.

The president further asked the minister to work for a second Middle East boom for Korean construction companies, improved public services and rational management at public corporations, and enhanced safety at construction sites. (Yonhap)