Hold Out for Recovery
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choi Kyung-hwan said on April 21 that he would adhere to expansionary fiscal policy until the recovery of the Korean economy can be directly felt.
“There is no change in the plan to execute 59 percent of this year’s budget before the end of the first half of this year,” he remarked at the meeting of the Strategy and Finance Committee of the National Assembly, adding, “The Korean economy is showing signs of gradually recovery these days, and I believe that expansionary fiscal policy, economic restructuring, and policy for economic revitalization will add speed to the recovery.”
The Deputy Prime Minister is going to accelerate economic restructuring as well by starting the legislative processes for the tasks discussed in the recent tripartite talks to reach a consensus, examples of which include measures against youth unemployment and uncertainties with regard to the retirement wage and working hours. Standards are to be prepared based on precedents and the like when it comes to the clarification of references and procedures for labor contract termination, wage system reform for the introduction of a retirement age of 60, and other matters.
Also, the Financial Reform Commission, which was launched last month, will be in charge of the acceleration of the financial sector reform.