Lee: "Will Establish Presidential Committee on Regulatory Rationalization"...Urges Swift Action (Comprehensive)

Lee Personally Presides Over Core Regulatory Rationalization Strategy Meeting
"There Is a New Path for Growth in Bold Regulatory Innovation"

President Lee Jaemyung has pledged to establish a Presidential Committee for Regulatory Rationalization, urging swift action on easing business regulations. President Lee personally presided over the Regulatory Rationalization Strategy Meeting, stating that he would push forward with strong momentum, including legislative measures.

Yonhap News Agency

At the first Core Regulatory Rationalization Strategy Meeting held at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) on the 15th, President Lee concluded by saying, "There is a path to new growth through sweeping regulatory innovation," and announced, "I will establish a Regulatory Rationalization Committee directly under the Presidential Office to drive regulatory reform."

President Lee emphasized, "We must innovate outdated regulations that hinder business activities. We should eliminate or reduce unnecessary regulations and expand those that are needed. My point is not to simply reduce or expand regulations unilaterally, but to make them rational."

He continued, "Currently, there are many conflicts of interest among stakeholders regarding regulations. Even within the government, ministries have different positions. If people meet regularly, communicate well, and debate with clear objectives, good results can be achieved. However, there are too many silos, leading to independent decision-making and delays, which has often resulted in postponing tasks until tomorrow or the day after."

To accelerate regulatory changes, President Lee said he plans to preside over several more regulatory reform meetings and, if necessary, proceed with legislative measures using strong momentum. He added that, as part of these efforts, today's meeting marks the first step toward opening new avenues for growth by discussing regulations for future core industries.

President Lee stated, "Countries around the world are fiercely competing to gain leadership in future industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), mobility, and bio-health. There are always crises, but if we can move ahead quickly, we can take a leading position and seize opportunities. Since companies worldwide are facing difficulties, I believe the results will greatly depend on how we respond. It all depends on our efforts."

President Lee also pledged to actively address excessively punitive regulations. He remarked, "I believe there are quite a few unreasonable, unnecessary, and pointless regulations in Korea. Even after years of legal proceedings, the outcome is often that those responsible are briefly detained, then released on probation or simply fined, which has little effect. This consumes a tremendous amount of national energy," he pointed out.

He added, "In the United States and other advanced countries, they impose hefty fines. Isn't that much more burdensome for companies? In Korea, there are far too many unnecessary punitive provisions. I am considering making sweeping changes in this area."

President Lee cited an example where, during U.S. visa or immigration screenings, Koreans were asked to submit records of past convictions, stating, "If you submit such records, it becomes very difficult to be approved. From the U.S. perspective, having a criminal record makes you seem like a major criminal. This reflects how our country has handled these matters so far," he pointed out.

Regarding the crime of breach of trust for businesspeople, President Lee said, "It is said that when businesspeople consider investing in Korea, they are warned that a wrong investment decision could land them in jail. The essence of business is to make judgments and decisions freely, so we need to fundamentally fix this. I believe everything should be handled rationally, reasonably, fairly, and effectively."

During the forum, discussions were held on regulatory improvements to allow the use of public data for AI learning, as well as the current state and rationalization of regulations related to autonomous driving and robotics technology development. After listening to the sector-specific discussions, President Lee said, "Dividing profits or determining responsibility can be addressed later. If we try to make everything perfect from the start, the opportunity will have already passed us by."

He added, "It doesn't seem like such a difficult task, but ultimately, it's a matter of making decisions. I will ensure that the government makes swift decisions and takes responsibility."