Finance Minister
Yoon Jeung-hyun |
By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter
The nation's top economic policymaker said Thursday that Korea should ease regulations on educational, legal, medical and other high-value-added services sectors to turn them into new growth engines, vowing to lower entry barriers and foster competition.
In a keynote speech to participants of the 7th ``Future Korea Report'' forum at the Shilla Hotel, Strategy and Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun said even though Asia's fourth-largest economy was not at the center of the ongoing financial crisis, the country has been severely affected by what happened outside its borders, stressing the importance of nurturing domestic market-oriented businesses.
``It is not easy to fundamentally change Korea's outward-centered economic structure. But we cannot afford to ignore the importance of the services industry. What we need to do is to relax rules and regulations on the medical, educational and legal services sectors to strengthen their competitiveness so that they can provide high-quality services at lower costs,'' Yoon said.
The minister then said more high-quality jobs will be created and the nation's current account balance will be improved as more individuals choose to spend money here rather than overseas. ``The strengthened services sectors will help strike a balance between exports and domestic demand, making Korea less vulnerable to outside shocks. Additionally, it is a thing of the past for interest groups to reap huge benefits under the protection of high entry barriers and other regulations at the expense of consumers.''
He noted that services providers should operate from the consumers' point of view, not from their own perspectives, urging them to abandon self interest and pursue the interests of the entire nation. ``I think the world economic landscape has and will change dramatically after the current crisis. Korea's ability to achieve sustainable growth will likely weaken down the road. Now is the time for us to enhance the competitiveness of small firms and services sectors to enlarge the size of the domestic market, while slashing our reliance on overseas demand.''
During a meeting of economy-related ministers a day earlier, Yoon also said the government will lower entry barriers for high-value-added professions, such as law and accounting, by overhauling their professional licensing systems.
Meanwhile, Mckinsey Global Institute head Richard Dobbs said in the forum that the Korean economy will not likely expand as fast as it did in the past as assets of U.S. consumers have declined by $14 trillion following the global financial turmoil.
``Korea overcame the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis by boosting domestic demand and shipping more goods to foreign markets. It is now facing a host of new challenges at home and abroad, including the rapidly aging population, productivity improvement and high energy prices. To raise productivity, Korea must overhaul its medical, information and educational sectors, as well as develop new technologies to reduce its energy consumption.''
He then said China, India and other emerging economies will determine the fate of the global economy in the future, stressing Korea should also play an active role on the global stage and dictate the future course of globalization.
MIT professor Alice Amsdem said Korea is the most desirable model among emerging economies. ``Korea still has a lot to learn from the U.S. and other advanced economies. But it should not lose its identity and make every effort to preserve its culture and tradition to become a truly globalized society.''
leehs@koreatimes.co.kr
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