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

Yoon Chairs the 4th Regulatory Innovation Strategy Meeting... "Supporting Regulatory Innovation for an Efficient Market"
Urges Public Officials to Change Mindset, Saying "Time Is Crucial in Deregulation"

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." In particular, President Yoon called on public officials for change, emphasizing that "the most important factor in lifting regulations is speed," he urged.

On the same morning, 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 abolish 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 "finding and swiftly eliminating even a few decisive regulations, i.e., killer regulations, that hinder business investment decisions." At this meeting, President Yoon mentioned the risks of regulations, warning that "although created with good intentions, they can distort the market or create monopolies," and explained in the same context that "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 faster speed," promising, "We will focus more on removing systems that obstruct free private investment and business activities."

He also stressed to public officials that "speed is the most important." He added, "The mindset of public officials must also be completely changed," and said, "Beyond regulations that can be easily lifted, please focus on abolishing killer regulations that are directly related to our livelihoods and must be resolved."

Regulatory reform at the ministry level is taking on a sense of urgency. At the meeting, improvement plans for the 'Killer Regulation Innovation Task Force,' which had been formed with related ministries and economic organizations, were announced, and six confirmed items were prioritized for further discussion. Representative examples include the ▲Industrial Complex Location Killer Regulation Abolition Plan addressing industry location regulations such as those on industrial complexes, the ▲Chemical Substance Management and Environmental Killer Regulation Abolition Plan aimed at resolving chemical substance regulations including the Chemical Substances Control Act and the Toxic Chemicals Control Act, and the ▲Foreign Workforce Utilization and Employment Killer Regulation Abolition Plan, which includes plans to ease foreign employment regulations. A presidential office official stated, "Reducing the burden on citizens and businesses through regulatory reform is a core government agenda," 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.