Yoon: "An Economic War Without Gunfire... Speeding Up Regulatory Reform to Let Companies Thrive" (Comprehensive)

Yoon Chairs the 4th Regulatory Innovation Strategy Meeting... "Creating an Efficient Market"
Checks the Operation Status of Regulatory Reforms in Each Ministry, Emphasizes "Time is Crucial"
"Will Focus More on Removing Systems That Hinder Private Investment"

President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on the 24th, "Killer regulations that hinder the leap in growth of our economy are entrenched throughout society," and urged, "Please accelerate regulatory reform so that our companies, which are in a race against time in this silent economic war, can move forward." President Yoon has directed all ministries to focus on 'regulatory innovation' in the second half of this year’s economic policy operations, eliminating and redesigning regulations that do not meet global standards.

On the morning of the same day, President Yoon presided over the '4th Regulatory Innovation Strategy Meeting' at the G-Valley Industry Museum in the Guro Digital Industrial Complex, where he discussed plans to eliminate killer regulations related to industrial complexes, environment, and employment. He said, "The government's important role is to create a fair and efficient market, and regulatory innovation must be supported to achieve this," delivering these instructions.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking at the Killer Regulation Reform Regulatory Innovation Strategy Meeting held on the 24th at the G Valley Industry Museum in the Guro Digital Industrial Complex, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

This meeting was convened to specifically implement President Yoon’s directive from the July announcement of the '2023 Second Half Economic Policy Direction,' which called for swiftly identifying and removing even a few decisive regulations?killer regulations?that hinder business investment decisions.

The meeting also reflected the intention to directly review the policy implementation status of each ministry regarding regulatory reform. At the meeting, President Yoon warned about the risks of regulations, saying, "Although created with good intentions, these can distort the market or create monopolies," and explained, "International cooperation is necessary for technological development, and systems aligned with global standards must be supported."

The government’s firm commitment to regulatory reform was reiterated. President Yoon said, "So far, the government has completed improvements on over 1,400 regulations and has made efforts toward regulatory innovation, but the field demands more boldness and speed," promising, "We will focus more on removing systems that hinder private sector’s free investment and business activities." He also urged public officials, saying, "The most important thing is speed." He added, "The mindset of public officials must also change drastically," and requested, "Please focus on eliminating killer regulations that are directly linked to our livelihoods, beyond just regulations that can be easily resolved."

President Yoon’s directive on 'regulatory innovation' has been emphasized repeatedly. From the first 'Regulatory Innovation Strategy Meeting' held in August last year after his inauguration, he demanded the removal of 'sandbags' that hold back companies and called for private-sector-led regulatory innovation. For example, since laws and regulations that do not fit reality can determine the survival of companies, the core idea is for businesspeople and private experts to identify such institutional problems.

This is also why 'pinpoint personnel changes' targeting underperforming national tasks linked to regulatory reform have been carried out. Starting with the appointment of Kang Kyung-sung, then Industrial Policy Secretary, as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in May to mark the first anniversary of the administration, and in June, five presidential office secretaries with a strong understanding of the Yoon administration’s national philosophy were assigned as vice ministers in various ministries. Since all had closely assisted President Yoon’s governance, it was judged that they could accelerate practical regulatory reform above all.

However, there are variables. To revise major regulations, support from the National Assembly is essential. Since the first meeting, President Yoon has said, "Cooperation from the National Assembly is absolutely important for regulatory innovation," and promised, "We will negotiate with the National Assembly to introduce regulatory impact analysis on lawmakers’ bills."

Regulatory reform at the ministry level appears to be gaining momentum. At this meeting, an improvement plan for the 'Killer Regulation Innovation Task Force,' which had been formed with related ministries and economic organizations, was announced, and six confirmed items were prioritized for further discussion. Representative examples include the ▲Plan to Eliminate Killer Regulations on Industrial Complex Location, addressing industry location regulations; the ▲Plan to Eliminate Environmental Killer Regulations such as chemical substance management, addressing regulations under the Chemical Substances Control Act and the Toxic Chemicals Control Act; and the ▲Plan to Eliminate Employment Killer Regulations, including plans to ease foreign employment regulations and utilize foreign manpower. A presidential office official stated, "Reducing the burden on citizens and companies through regulatory reform is a core national agenda of the government," and added, "We will continue to do our best to keep our promises to the people."

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