President Yoon: "Public Institution Innovation Cannot Be Delayed... Bold Improvement of Wasteful Management"

Public Institution Debt Surges, Significant Increase in Organization and Personnel… Yoon: "Strict Evaluation to Make Institutions Work Well"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] President Yoon Suk-yeol said on the 21st, "Innovation in public institutions is a task that can no longer be postponed," adding, "Areas that have been operated inefficiently must be boldly improved."

At the Cabinet meeting held at the Yongsan Presidential Office building on the morning of the same day, President Yoon pointed out the debt and inefficient management of public institutions, emphasizing, "They must be boldly improved."

In particular, President Yoon stated, "The debt of public institutions has surged over the past five years, reaching 583 trillion won as of the end of last year," and criticized, "Despite the rapid increase in debt, the organizations and workforce of public institutions have significantly expanded over the past five years." He continued, "Public institutions must be strictly evaluated to become small but efficient organizations that earn the trust of the people."

He also mentioned that innovation of the 350 public institutions is a task that all ministries must jointly pursue. President Yoon said, "Intensive expenditure restructuring is necessary," adding, "Fiscal resources must be used where absolutely necessary, and funds should be spent warmly and generously for truly socially vulnerable groups who desperately need government support." Regarding this, President Yoon urged, "All government officials and executives of public institutions across all ministries should have a sense of crisis and commit to revitalizing the economy."

On his way to work that day, President Yoon also commented on the 2021 public institution management evaluation announced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance the previous day, saying, "Traditionally, the public sector has always been the first to tighten its belt during economic hardships." Earlier, the government had postponed Korea Electric Power Corporation's request for an electricity rate increase, and President Yoon's remarks are interpreted as confirming that self-help efforts must come first.

At the Cabinet meeting that day, several agenda items aimed at overcoming the economic crisis were consecutively presented. These included extending the period for reducing the individual consumption tax rate on automobiles to help parts suppliers struggling due to global supply chain issues and to reduce the burden on consumers, as well as lowering the tariff quotas on 13 items such as pork, wheat, flour, and soybean oil to stabilize prices for ordinary citizens. President Yoon said, "I hope each ministry will promptly establish policies that stabilize people’s livelihoods and restore economic vitality."

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