Yoon Administration 1 Year... 1027 Cases of Regulatory Reform Yielding 70 Trillion Won Economic Effect

'Sandbag' Regulatory Innovation: 1,027 Improvements
Investment 40 Trillion, Sales 60 Trillion, Burden Reduction 200 Trillion Won

With the easing of environmental conservation regulations that had blocked the construction of the Seoraksan Osaek Cable Car, the cable car operation, a long-cherished project for 41 years, has become possible. The height restriction regulation in cultural heritage preservation areas was relaxed from 200m to 50m, allowing manufacturing plants to be established around the Joseon white porcelain kiln sites. The outdated regulations that had prevented drone delivery in mountainous areas were abolished, enabling drone delivery at pensions in Gapyeong.

On the 10th, the Office for Government Policy Coordination under the Prime Minister's Office announced that 1,027 such regulations were comprehensively improved, generating an economic effect of 70 trillion won. This includes 44 trillion won in investment creation, 6 trillion won in sales increase, and 20 trillion won in burden reduction. This result comes from verification of 152 regulatory innovation cases with measurable economic effects by the Korea Development Institute (KDI), Korea Rural Economic Institute, and Hanyang University Biotechnology Policy Research Center.

For example, the lifting of site regulations in the Gwangyang industrial complex is expected to create an investment effect of 4.4 trillion won. The streamlining of permit regulations for the Songdo 2nd Bio Campus also forecasts an investment of 7 trillion won. Expanding the types of recycled fishery by-products brought about a sales increase of 100 billion won, and allowing the cultivation of forest products on reclaimed land resulted in a sales increase of 190 billion won. Relaxing the mandatory bond purchase requirements when buying cars led to a burden reduction of 2.1 trillion won, and expanding the scope of recognized recyclable resources also contributed to a burden reduction of 1 trillion won.

Prioritizing Regulatory Innovation as a Top National Agenda, 1,027 Cases Revised with Speed

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The dismantling of these outdated administrative barriers is the result of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration making ‘regulatory system innovation’ its top national agenda and pushing for regulatory reform symbolized by the ‘sand hourglass’ from the early days of its term. Previous administrations labeled regulatory barriers as ‘utility poles’ (Lee Myung-bak), ‘thorns and nails’ (Park Geun-hye), and ‘red flags’ (Moon Jae-in), promising deregulation, but with minimal results. In response, the Yoon administration focused the economic policy paradigm on the private sector and market from the start of its term. It launched the Regulatory Innovation Strategy Meeting chaired directly by the president. The administration established the Regulatory Judgment System and the Regulatory Innovation Promotion Team to accelerate regulatory abolition.

Since a comprehensive regulatory overhaul was impossible, priorities were set to eliminate overlapping regulations and those affecting advanced industries first. Safety measures against side effects were also quickly put in place. This government’s approach aligns with President Yoon Suk-yeol’s directive that all systems, including regulations, must be changed to meet global standards. At the first Regulatory Innovation Strategy Meeting held in Daegu last year, President Yoon stated, “The government’s important role is to remove systems and elements that hinder the private sector from investing and thriving more freely, and the core of this is regulatory innovation.”

The Office for Government Policy Coordination highlighted the Seoraksan Osaek Cable Car project and the easing of drone delivery regulations in mountainous areas as major examples of regulatory changes on the ground. The Seoraksan cable car project had been pursued since 1982 but made no progress due to environmental issues. The office imposed feasible conservation conditions in the environmental impact assessment. Construction of the Seoraksan cable car began this year and is scheduled to operate in 2026. The local economy is expected to benefit from 500,000 annual tourists and the creation of about 1,300 jobs.

Office for Government Policy Coordination: "We Will Not Rest on Aggregate Achievements but Continue Field Inspections"

The establishment of drone delivery infrastructure in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, was also achieved through regulatory innovation. To commercialize drones in mountainous areas, individual flight approvals and landing site address settings were required. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport quickly granted flight approvals, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety provided public address data. Drone delivery became possible, shortening travel distance by 69%. While vehicle delivery took 40 minutes, drones can deliver within 15 minutes.

Highly noticeable improvements for the public included the abolition of the obligation to fill out traveler’s baggage declaration forms. This eliminated the inconvenience for 43 million annual arrivals who had to complete forms on planes or at airports. The allowance of autonomous delivery robots activated new industries. Increasing the maximum load capacity of cargo trucks for parcel delivery reduced burdens on small and medium enterprises. The scope of recycled plastic was also expanded.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination plans to increase field inspections to avoid resting on aggregate regulatory reform achievements. Director Bang Moon-kyu emphasized, “We will create a business-friendly environment for companies and small business owners through rationalization of land and site regulations and resolve ambiguous regulatory obstacles for new industries.” He added, “We will also strengthen cooperation with the National Assembly to swiftly enact 80 laws necessary for the rapid spread of regulatory innovation achievements currently pending in the National Assembly, including the Environmental Impact Assessment Act and the Distribution Industry Development Act.”

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