Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok chaired the Ministerial Meeting on Economic Affairs at the Government Complex-Seoul on July 10 to discuss the following agenda items: ① Regulatory innovation and solutions for on-site difficulties in new industries, ②Current status of employment for June 2024, ③Legal, institutional, and infrastructure development plans to foster the used battery industry, and ④ National contract system improvement measures.
The following are key messages of DPM Choi’s remarks.
According to the employment data for June, the employment rate and labor force participation rate have reached record highs for 29 consecutive months, while the unemployment rate is at its second-lowest level ever. The number of employed people increased by 96,000, a slight expansion compared to the previous month. With temporary factors such as the heat wave limiting employment growth to some extent, there were continued challenges with the expanded decrease in construction employment and a sustained decline in the number of self-employed people.
In response, the government will remain vigilant and collaborate with relevant ministries to closely monitor and address the employment situation. In this regard, the government will double down on facilitating domestic demand to make sure that the export-driven economic recovery will lead to job creation and improved livelihoods. Tailored support measures will also be swiftly prepared for sectors experiencing an employment decline, including support for job transition and livelihood stability of construction workers. Along with it, the pan-governmental job task force will weekly monitor employment conditions by industry and demographic, ensuring timely responses are implemented.
Furthermore, the government will diligently push forward the recently announced the “Support Package for Small Business Owners and the Self-employed”, worth 25 trillion won, to alleviate business burdens and actively support their new start.
Meanwhile, the real estate market has shown increased volatility, with prices continuing to rise in certain areas of Seoul despite overall stability in key indicators. The government will promptly supply the pre-planned housing units, including those in the third new town, and actively consider additional supply expansion measures if necessary. The policy stance of stabilizing household debt downward will also be firmly maintained by gradually strengthening and expanding Debt Service Ratio (DSR) regulations including the expansion of the scope of applicable Stress DSR (starting in September).
As citizens still perceive that “the economy remains weak”, the most important factor is the “speed” at which policies are delivered to the field. All ministries, local governments, and relevant institutions will work together to assure that the policy measures are implemented quickly and successfully.
[Legal, Institutional, and Infrastructure Development Plans to Foster the Used Battery Industry]
The government will establish an institutional framework to utilize used batteries from electric vehicles as “resources” instead of discarding as “waste”.
A system for sharing lifecycle information of batteries, from manufacturing to post-scrap recycling, between the public and private sectors will be launched within the current administration’s term. A ‘recycled material certification system’ will be introduced next year to verify the extent to which useful minerals extracted from used batteries are incorporated into new batteries.
The ‘Comprehensive Used Battery Act’ will also be prepared this year for these newly devised systems to be carried out smoothly.
[Regulatory Innovation and Solutions for On-site Difficulties in New Industries]
Following the regulatory innovation measures for fintech and robotics announced last March, the government now presents the second set of regulatory innovation measures for new industries, focusing on autonomous driving.
The temporary operation permit period for test and research autonomous vehicles will be extended from the current 5 years to a maximum of 9 years. In order to establish a ‘Korean-version of Times Square’, the government will swiftly increase the number of free display zones for digital billboards, beyond the current four locations.
The government will continue to actively figure out on-site obstacles and prepare regulatory improvement measures in a series of initiatives going forward.
[National Contract System Improvement Measures]
With an aim to lower the entry barriers for new businesses in the procurement market and support the recovery of the construction industry, the national contract system is set to be improved.
The fees incurred during the process of paying contract deposits by procurement companies will be reduced by more than 20% compared to the current level. In order to ensure that early-stage companies are not excluded from contract evaluations due to a lack of performance records, the relaxed evaluation criteria currently applied to companies with less than three years of operation will be expanded to include companies with less than five years of operation.
Please refer to the attached files.
