South Korea readies economic council

SEOUL, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will head a new council intended to combat the economic downturn, a government spokesman said.

The council made up of bank officials and economic ministers will meet weekly in an Emergency Economic Situation Room, which presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan called "the war room," Yonhap news agency reported Monday.

In his New Year's speech last week, Lee said he would run an "emergency economy government."

"We are trying to speed things up because we are facing an unprecedented crisis," Lee said.