Government to push bill to widen service sector

The government will prioritize getting pending service-related bills passed by the National Assembly before the political parties plunge into campaigning mode for next year’s April 13 general elections, said officials at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance on Monday.

Seven of the 30 bills aiming to boost the economy through the service sector have been pending at the National Assembly for up to three years, according to the ministry.

Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyung-hwan was quoted by a news provider as saying, “The government plans to devote all its efforts for the passage of the bills as soon as possible.”

In particular, Choi said, it is necessary to see quick legislation put into motion on development of the service industry for active job creation for the nation’s youth. One bill, proposed in July 2012, has not even been passed by a standing committee.

While the government and the ruling Saenuri Party call on lifting a variety of barriers and regulations for the service industry, the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy says the proposed bill would eventually bring risky privatization in the nation’s medical sector.

The bills include one to allow commercial advertisements for medical institutions in foreign languages at airports and some other locations, as well as the approval for insurance companies to attract patients from foreign countries. It is a motion to revise the law on medical services.

Another core bill is designed to promote the tourism industry, aimed at expanding lodging facilities for visitors.

Minister Choi cited a poll on a group of enterprises in which 34 percent of the respondents reportedly said they would expand investments if the service-related bills pass the Assembly.

“The bills would pave the way for the nation to provide the growing number of Chinese and other overseas visitors high-quality services such as tourism, medical, contents, finance and education,” he said.

The government plans to bolster communication with lawmakers as well as persuade them to clear the bills in coming National Assembly plenary session, which is scheduled to open Sept. 1, he added.

In his earlier meeting with economy-related ministers, Choi said that Japan has made notable progress in the elimination of many restrictions in the medical services, tourism and agriculture sectors.

On the other hand, efforts to push forward structural reforms in Korea have met with resistance due to the ineffectiveness of tension-mitigating mechanisms, he said.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)