The 31^st Emergency Vice-Ministerial Meeting on Economic Affairs

First Vice Minister Byounghwan Kim presided over the 31^st Emergency Vice-Ministerial Meeting on Economic Affairs and the 1^st pan-ministerial regional investment task force (TF) meeting at the Government Complex-Seoul on September 22 to discuss; 1) the progress of measures to stabilize people’s livelihoods during the Chuseok holiday and 2) pan-ministerial support for regional investment.

VM Kim noted that measures to stabilize people’s livelihood for the Chuseok holiday’s is being smoothly carried out; a total of 120,000 tons of high demand items for Chuseok were provided as of September 20, which has contributed to lowering average prices of 20 items by 6.4 percent than those of the previous year, exceeding the initial goal of a 5% decrease. He also expressed the government’s commitment to continue stabilizing prices during the holiday by releasing the remaining items and introducing quota tariffs for chicken and pork.

VM Kim added that the effects of the government’s policy measures to boost domestic consumption are apparent; sales of domestic tourism packages and gift sets of agricultural, livestock, and fisheries products are on the rise during the Chuseok holiday mainly due to the designation of October 2^nd as an extra holiday and expansion of the upper limit of agricultural, livestock, and fisheries gift set prices (200,000 → 300,000 won), which allow public officials to accept. He also stated that the government will make all-out efforts to ensure that such effects continue by issuing 300,000 accommodation coupons from September 27 and considering the extension of the Golden Night Companion Festival.

Furthermore, he noted that the government will actively support regional investments by operating the pan-ministerial regional investment task force (TF) as a one-stop shop to resolve difficulties in regional investment projects and by operating a public-private joint construction investment project coordination committee to promptly coordinate and mediate disputes between project owners and their contractors.

Please refer to the attached files.