Vice Minister Gi Jae: "Establishment of Prohibition Notice on Hoarding Masks, etc... 16,000 Bills at Risk of Being Discarded" (Comprehensive)

Kim Yong-beom, the 1st Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is delivering opening remarks at the 2nd Innovation Growth Strategy Review Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office Building's Cabinet Members' Cafeteria on the 31st. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Kim Yong-beom, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, stated on the 31st regarding the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia), "In this nationally serious situation, market disorderly conduct will never be tolerated. Along with strict measures against unfair trade practices such as collusion, we will promptly enact a notice banning hoarding by early February."

On the same day, Vice Minister Kim chaired the '2nd Vice Ministerial Meeting on Prices and the 2nd Innovation Growth Strategy Review Meeting' at the Government Seoul Office and announced, "Starting today, a joint inspection team involving related ministries such as the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the Fair Trade Commission, the National Tax Service, and local governments will be formed to conduct on-site inspections at each stage of production and distribution of quasi-drugs."

Vice Minister Kim also said, "Urgent and important bills for revitalizing our economy and stabilizing people's livelihoods are still pending in the National Assembly," and urged, "Each ministry should make every effort to support legislation so that non-contentious and major bills can be passed by the February extraordinary session of the National Assembly."

With only about four months left until the end of the 20th National Assembly, the number of bills discarded due to expiration of term is 16,000, the highest ever. In comparison, 3,162 bills were discarded in the 17th, 6,301 in the 18th, and 9,811 in the 19th National Assembly.

However, he added, "Some of the bills that the government has focused on, such as the Data 3 Act and the Special Act on Balanced Development, have been processed, which I believe will greatly contribute to future economic management."

Regarding the recent economic situation, Vice Minister Kim gave a positive assessment. Referring to the December and annual industrial activity trends announced that day, he said, "The three major indicators of production, consumption, and facility investment showed improvement for two consecutive months," and analyzed, "The leading index cyclical component, which can gauge future economic trends, has risen for four consecutive months, and the coincident index has also turned upward."

He continued, "The preliminary figure of the 2019 annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (2.0%), along with improvements in economic sentiment indicators such as the Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) and the Business Survey Index (BSI) announced last week, are meaningful results that support positive expectations for economic recovery."

According to the 'December Industrial Activity Trends' announced by Statistics Korea on the same day, total industrial production (seasonally adjusted, excluding agriculture, forestry, and fisheries) in December last year increased by 1.4% compared to the previous month. On an annual basis, it increased by 0.4% compared to the previous year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.