By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter

In an apparent reaction to criticism, the Lee Myung-bak administration has been adopting a series of policies to appease the less well off. But the move has attracted criticism from chaebol and the rich.

Finance-Strategy Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun announced his intention not to cut income and corporate taxes for big business, and then on Tuesday unveiled a 2.1-trillion-package for the poor.

But chaebol lobby group, the Federation of Korean Industries, Tuesday urged the government to adopt a pro-business policy so that companies can create more jobs and increase investment.

The policy U-turn came amid opposition criticism that the Lee administration is a government only for the rich and business groups.

Minister Yoon said it will become easier for the working class to get small loans without collateral, and families with three or more children will be given priority when applying for apartments supplied by the government.

``Difficulties are continuing for the working class as incomes fall, household economies worsen and the job market falters,'' the minister said Tuesday. ``It will take considerable time until things get easier for the working class, though the economy is showing signs of improvement,'' he added.

According to statistics, the top 20 percent of households made 5.74 times more than the bottom 20 percent last year, marking the biggest gap ever. Hence, there has been criticism that the Lee administration is not taking care of workers and the less privileged while allocating over 20 trillion won in mega construction projects around the country's four main rivers.

The package is designed to improve the livelihood of the working class, self-employed people and women.

It includes bolstering financing for the working class, such as an expansion of micro credit services, and will be funded by voluntary donation by conglomerates and also by the government. Up to 5 million won in loans for 167,000 workers with poor credit will be provided for living expenses.

The package will also give half of households with children aged 4 and under ― totaling 620,000 ― support for nursery fees. Currently, only 350,000 are beneficiaries.

In the health sector, low-income households that pay less than 10,000 won a month in state health insurance will pay only half of that for the next year. Cancer patients will shoulder only 5 percent of medical treatment costs, lower than the current level of 10 percent.

Support for households with three children or more goes hand in hand with efforts to encourage people to have more children amid the country's falling birthrate.

One out of 10 apartments for lease built by the government will be allocated to these households under the plan. Currently, only 3 percent are allocated to the group. They will also get a 20-percent discount on electricity costs.

To help traditional markets and small vendors losing out to mega retail outlets, the government said it will introduce gift coupons to be used at 600 traditional markets around the country.

chizpizza@koreatimes.co.kr