▲ Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Lee Hyung-il speaks at the Emergency Economic Headquarters meeting, the Economic Ministers' Meeting, and the Task Force on Service Industry Development held at the Government Complex-Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 14th.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Lee Hyung-il announced that the government will intensively foster the service industry to lead the South Korean economy following semiconductors.
Presiding over the Emergency Economic Headquarters meeting, the Economic Ministers' Meeting, and the Service Industry Development Task Force (TF) at the Government Complex-Seoul today (the 14th), Deputy Prime Minister Lee stated, "We need second and third runners to lead growth alongside semiconductors, and the service industry is one of them."
He explained the background by noting that the service industry has a massive job creation effect and is drawing attention as a new growth engine as high-value-added sectors like K-content make a leap forward.
In particular, he attributed significance to its contribution to people's livelihoods, as it is closely tied to daily life, employs a large number of young people, and helps revitalize regional economies.
"The government will catch two birds with one stone—growth and people's livelihoods—through fostering the service industry," Deputy Prime Minister Lee remarked. "To this end, we ask for active interest and cooperation from the National Assembly so that the currently proposed Basic Act on Service Industry Development can be enacted within the year."
He added that the government is preparing three core social policies concerning housing, employment, and commoners' finance, and will collaborate with all ministries and state-run research institutes to produce polarization countermeasures that the public can feel.
During today's meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Lee discussed measures to revitalize five major tourism zones by encouraging foreign tourists, currently concentrated in the capital area, to enter directly through regional airports.
Last month, the government selected five ultra-wide regional tourism zones centered around five regional airports: Gimhae Airport zone, Daegu Airport zone, Cheongju Airport zone, Yangyang Airport zone, and Muan Airport zone.
Deputy Prime Minister Lee revealed a target of achieving 5 million inbound visitors to the five tourism zones by 2029.
To achieve this, the government plans to inject approximately 410 billion KRW in national and local government funds next year and review regulatory exceptions linked to the Mega Special Zone Act, which is scheduled to be proposed soon.
It will also pursue an AI demonstration project that uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to solve problems faced by inbound tourists, such as transportation and language.
Deputy Prime Minister Lee announced that during the "Korea Grand Festival," a national discount festival running from October 29 to November 15, the government will raise the discount rate for digital Onnuri gift certificates from 7% to 10%, operate a "Win-Win Consumption Lottery" with a total of 1.7 billion KRW in prize money, and provide various consumption and discount benefits, including up to 50% off agricultural, livestock, and fishery products.
Detailed measures will be announced this month following discussions among relevant ministries.
To mitigate the shock of the Middle East war, the 11th maximum petroleum price taking effect from midnight on the 17th under the implemented maximum petroleum price system will be announced at 6:00 p.m. on the 16th.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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