Govt's major economic measures unveiled in economy management plan

The following are key measures from the government's economy management plan to be carried out by newly inaugurated Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan. The plan mostly focuses on boosting domestic demand, stabilizing people's livelihoods and reforming the country's economic structure.

Expansionary macroeconomic policy

   - Injects 40.7 trillion won in fiscal and financial support to boost economic recovery

   - Strengthens fiscal support by 11.7 trillion won during the second half

   - Expands policy financing support for small- and medium-sized companies through state-run banks by 10 trillion won

   - Draws up a budget for 2015 as expansionary as possible to support economic recovery

   - Improves regulations on foreign currency transactions (July)


Household income

   - Plans to introduce tax schemes aimed at encouraging companies to spend a certain ratio of their profits on employment and investment

   - Plans to encourage companies to hike salaries of their workers through tax incentives

   - Plans to draw up measures aimed at encouraging companies to pay out dividends to investors (August)

   - Expands income deductions on check cards and cash receipts

   - Extends tax deductions on credit card spending by two years


Corporate investment

   - Pursues large-scale infrastructure construction led by private investors

   - Raises lending through the foreign currency stabilization fund to businesses to $15 billion from US$10 billion

   - Improves systems to make business inheritance easier for small companies


Housing market and household debt

   - Adjusts the loan-to-value ceiling to a uniform rate of 70 percent

   - Adjusts the debt-to-income ceiling to a uniform rate of 60 percent


Livelihood

   - Stabilizes prices to help people in their daily lives and strengthens the distribution structure for widely consumed goods

   - Draws up measures to stimulate competition in communications sector and lower the burden from communication fees (November)


Extra measures

   - Provides support for companies to turn irregular workers into regular employees by picking up salary increases

   - Pushes for strong reform of the debt-ridden public sector

   - Nurtures tourism, medical and other promising service sector businesses

(Yonhap)