Yoon: "Livelihood Bills Hampered by National Assembly... Must Quickly Take Effect"

President Yoon Directly Reviews 'Second Half Economic Policy Direction'
"Price Stability Management and Trade Balance Surplus Turnaround" Evaluation
Breaking the Structure of Dividing Interests... 'Zero Base' Review

President Yoon Suk-yeol said on the 4th, "Bills for stabilizing people’s livelihoods are being held up in the National Assembly, causing frustration among the public," urging the swift passage of essential economic and livelihood bills. In particular, he pointed to the 'National Finance Act', 'Housing Act', and 'Medical Act', requesting active support from the government and ruling party. The government plans to focus on 'revitalizing the economy' in the second half of the year, establishing a policy to strictly respond not only to cartel dismantling in the industrial sector but also to illegal activities related to livelihood issues.

On the same day, President Yoon presided over the '18th Emergency Economic and Livelihood Meeting' at the Blue House State Guest House to discuss the '2023 Second Half Economic Policy Direction,' stating, "The second half of this year is an important turning point to demonstrate the resilience of the Korean economy, which has overcome crises and grown one step further."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking at the 18th Emergency Economic and Livelihood Meeting on the Direction of Economic Policy for the Second Half of 2023, held at the Blue House State Guesthouse on the 4th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

At the meeting, President Yoon praised the government's economic management in the first half of the year, saying, "We have brought inflation, which once exceeded 6%, down to the 2% range and are managing it stably, and the trade balance, which had been continuously in deficit, turned to a surplus last month." This referred to the steady decline in the consumer price inflation rate after peaking at 6.3% in July last year, and the end of a 15-month streak of trade deficits that had continued since March last year.

However, he pointed out, "Many bills aimed at improving the economic structure and stabilizing people’s livelihoods are being held up in the National Assembly, causing much frustration among the public." He added, "I hope that each minister will focus solely on the people and make every effort to ensure the swift passage of essential economic and livelihood bills."

He specifically mentioned the 'National Finance Act' for introducing fiscal rules, the 'Housing Act' for easing the real residence obligation, and the 'Medical Act' for establishing grounds for non-face-to-face medical treatment. These are all issues with clear differences between the ruling and opposition parties. Even the 'Partial Amendment to the National Finance Act,' which aims to legislate fiscal rules, has been discussed in the National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee’s Economic and Fiscal Subcommittee but does not seem likely to pass easily. The government and ruling party’s position is to legally cap quantities such as national debt to prevent the country’s finances from deteriorating beyond a certain level, while the Democratic Party argues that it is necessary to be cautious about legally restricting government spending during a prolonged low-growth phase.

On the same day, the government also announced plans to prioritize 'export expansion' as the top economic policy task in line with this policy direction. The core is to regularly review follow-up measures for achievements in export, order acquisition, and investment attraction through sales diplomacy, and actively correct systems or regulations that do not meet global standards.

The recently emphasized 'cartel dismantling' was also brought up again. President Yoon said, "The structure of building exclusive cartels to divide interests and rights among themselves, rather than focusing on profits and rights for all, must be thoroughly dismantled," and emphasized, "All public officials must not fear or ignore confronting this." He also pointed out the monopoly and oligopoly structures in certain industries. President Yoon said, "The unfair profits of interest cartels that divide government subsidies must be reviewed from a zero base in our budget and completely eliminated," adding, "We must work harder to ensure that the fruits of growth spread throughout the lives of the people and warmth rises." In addition, he ordered strict responses to illegal activities. President Yoon said, "We must resolve issues such as reverse jeonse, jeonse fraud, and illegal private loans that are troubling the public, and respond strictly to illegal acts."

Meanwhile, the meeting was convened to conduct a mid-term review of the '2023 Economic Policy Direction' established by the government at the end of last year and to adjust the economic management direction for the second half of the year. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho explained recent economic conditions and future prospects including the economy, financial and real estate markets, inflation, and employment, and reported on three key focus tasks: ▲revitalizing the economy ▲stabilizing the livelihood economy ▲improving the economic structure.

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