During his presidency, he introduced South Korea's contemporary welfare state, successfully shepherded the country's economic recovery, brought in a new era of economic transparency and fostered a greater role for South Korea in the world stage, including the FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan in 2002.
Selama masa kepresidenannya, ia memperkenalkan Korea Selatan kontemporer negara kesejahteraan, berhasil menggiring pemulihan ekonomi Korea Selatan, membawa era baru transparansi ekonomi dan memupuk peran yang lebih besar dari Korea Selatan di panggung dunia, termasuk Piala Dunia Piala, yang diselenggarakan bersama dengan Korea dan Jepang di 2002.