'We have never experienced this sort of crisis,' Mr Lee said during a visit to an auto factory, according to a government statement, emphasising South Korea's difficulty in finding destinations for its goods.

South Korea's exports fell 18.3 per cent in November from the same month last year, helping fan fears that Asia's fourth-largest economy could contract next year on an annual basis for the first time since 1997.

Unemployment - at 3.1 per cent - so far remains low, though there are widespread concerns that it could spike higher.

Mr Lee, who was visiting a factory run by GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co, the South Korean arm of General Motors Corp, said labour and management must work together to save jobs, while workers must increase productivity.

'Retaining jobs depends greatly on what the employees perform,' Mr Lee said at the plant in Incheon, west of Seoul. 'Considering the severity of the current difficulty, you may have to sacrifice a lot.'

Mr Lee, accompanied by Mr Michael Grimaldi, GM Daewoo's president and chief executive, praised the company as 'one of the best-performing plants of General Motors'.

Later in Washington, President George W. Bush announced US$17.4 billion (S$19.5 billion) in emergency loans for troubled US carmakers in exchange for changes in the way they do business. GM and Chrysler LLC have sought federal help amid fears they could soon run out of cash. Ford Motor Co says it is in better shape but may need aid if the others fail.

GM Daewoo has been forced to curb production because of falling export demand. The company, South Korea's third-largest automaker behind Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp, sold nearly 960,000 vehicles last year, most of them exported.

Mr Lee was speaking on the first anniversary of his election by the biggest margin in the country's history.

He took office in February amid high public expectations that his experience as a hard-charging former construction industry CEO would enable him to skillfully steer the world's 13th-largest economy.

Mr Lee, though, saw his initial popularity plummet amid massive spring street protests over a plan to resume US beef imports.

Ambitious goals for gains in economic growth, meanwhile, have been dashed by the global credit crisis.

South Korea's stock market, which rose by double digits in four of five years through 2007, has fallen sharply this year. The South Korean won, meanwhile, has been one of the world's worst performing currencies.

The country's financial markets, however, have shown signs of life in recent days. -- AP