2021 work report
2021 Work Report
2021 Work Report: Strengthen COVID-19 crisis management to speed robust economic recovery and support industrial innovation, as well as pursue inclusiveness and improve public sector efficiency.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance will work to achieve Korea’s strong economic recovery by carefully managing risk factors to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic while promoting investment and industrial innovation. We will also continue to seek inclusiveness and improve public sector efficiency.
1. Strengthen COVID-19 Crisis Management
- Strengthen disease prevention: Secure enough vaccines for 56 million people by February and provide it to the public for free.
- Provide tailored support for those affected by COVID-19: Work to deliver 90 percent of relief payment to small businesses before the Lunar New Year Holiday and expand tax reduction for rent cuts given to commercial property owners from 50 percent to 70 percent.
- Improve risk management: pay close attention to make sure housing, population decline, and household debts don’t serve as risk factors.
2. Promote consumption, investment and exports
- Maintain expansionary fiscal policies: Spend 63 percent of the 2021 budgets, a total of 558.0 trillion won, in the first half, and provide 494.8 trillion won worth of policy financing in 2021.
- Promote investment and consumption: Promote investment through 110 trillion won national investment projects[1], and boost consumption by increasing tax incentives[2] and gift certificates.[3]
- Strengthen financial support[4]: Help receiving overseas construction orders to exceed US $30 billion in 2021, following the previous year.
- Promote exports: Expand FTA networks to enhance exports by effectively responding to Mega FTAs such as RCEP and accelerating FTA negotiations with New Southern regions, New Northern regions and Latin America.
3. Support Industrial Innovation
- Invest to carry out Korean New Deal: Invest 21 trillion won[5] from 2021 budget and raise a 4 trillion won worth of New Deal fund for policy-based investing to successfully carry out the Korean New Deal.
- Promote local New Deal: Work on improving regulations including tax support for New Deal Infrastructure Fund
- Promote BIG3[6] and DNA[7] as growth engine for innovation: Allocate 4.2 trillion won worth of 2021 budgets to BIG 3, and 9.9 trillion won worth of budgets to advance economic system based on data, network and artificial intelligence
- Promote an environmentally friendly and low carbon economy: Establish mid-to long term strategies for greenhouse gas emission reduction and prepare legal grounds for newly launching fund to support adaptation to climate change.
- Promote service sector: Prepare mid-to long term strategies and work on implementing new business models in service sector.
4. Seek Inclusiveness
- Increase job creation in public sector: Promote 1,042,000 jobs for vulnerable groups and 63,000 jobs in social service sector.
- Finance job retention in private sector: Expand financial support to retain employees and provide tax cuts for new hiring.
- Improve job security and expand social safety nets: Support those remaining outside the employment insurance system, and extend financial support for vulnerable groups in labor market.
5. Improve Public Sector Efficiency
- Increase government spending efficiency: Improve fiscal sustainability and efficiency by tentatively operating OCIO pool, and preparing legal grounds for fiscal rules
- Support the innovation driven growth: Increase number of innovative products and budgets for innovative product purchases in public sector by 10 percent from the previous year, which is 459.4 billion won, to promote the growth of innovative products and R&D corporates.
- Come up with tailored performance assessment for each institution to increase productivity and efficiency of public institutions.
