Minister Suh Seung-hwan of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said in his New Year’ message that this is the year to realize the Three-Year Economic Plan, and the ministry will focus on various measures to boost the economy and expand the expectation for the economic recovery across the country. The ministry will see that every citizen feels economic progress, not just with figures, indices and other statistics.

“One of the big tasks ahead for us this year,” he said, “is to blow a strong wind into the economy with deregulation and elimination of the unnecessary laws to remove the hunk or core matters blocking the economic growth.” There should be no limits for regulatory reform on a steady basis so that money should go to investment so that the private sector would have a plenty of liquidity, the minister added.

Suh said more high-tech industrial complexes around the country should be built. He also said public organizations that were relocated should hire more local manpower to create more jobs in the new region, added that they should also make efforts to develop the economies of surrounding areas.

The downtown areas of cities that lost growth momentum should be provided with the means to recapture their growth, the minister said.

One of the shortcuts to revive the economy is to help people ease their burdens in securing stable housing. If people don’t have to worry about their residential conditions, Suh said they would be freer to spend money, which would in the end help economic growth.

The minister also said they should be able to cope with the rapid changes in monthly and long-term house leasing market and let the corporate-type private sector house leasing market grow as a means to increase the number of rental houses and diversify housing rental operations.  

This will be one of the most significant years, as it is the 70th year since the division of the Korean Peninsula. “At year-end, last year, the government proposed high-level meetings between the two divided Koreas and we should be prepared to meet with any rapid changes on the inter-Korean matters,” he said. 

The Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport has now been settled in its new home in Sejong City and is ready to discharge its responsibility in full this year, the minister declared.