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By Yoon Ja-young
The government will establish "regulation-free zones" across the country to help boost provincial economies by nurturing region-specific industries.
The zones, in 14 cities and provinces, will be free of all red tape for development of key industries identified as future growth engines for the region, as well as the country, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), drones, bio-health and smart devices.
More rental homes will be supplied by businesses to stabilize the housing market. These are part of the 2016 economic policy plans announced by the government, Wednesday.
South Jeolla Province, for instance, will specialize in the drone industry, as it has Naro Space Center and good infrastructure related to the aerospace industry.
Unlike other regions, drone companies will be allowed freely to test their drones in the regulation-free zone in South Jeolla Province, regardless of speed, altitude and time.
Each of the 14 cities and provinces had two industries designated. Busan, for instance, will nurture oceanic tourism and IoT services, Ulsan will develop environment-friendly cars and 3D printing and Gangwon Province will harbor smart health care and tourism. All regulations hampering development of these industries will be assessed.
"Though it would be difficult to scrap these regulations nationwide, they could be moved out for certain industries in certain regions," said Lee Ho-seung, who is in charge of policy coordination at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. "That will help the development of the industries in these regions."
The designated industries in each region will also be provided a package of benefits including tax and finance incentives.
A special bill will be submitted to the National Assembly in June to establish the regulation-free zones.
The 2016 economic directive also includes an increasing supply of rental homes by businesses. While rental apartments were mostly supplied by state-run entities such as Korea Land and Housing Corporation, the government wants to induce construction companies to supply rental homes to stabilize the housing market. It plans to expand the supply of these business-owned rental homes by 50,000 units next year.
The government also focused on boosting consumption. The "Korea Black Friday" sales event will be set in mid-November every year, and elderly farmers will be induced to receive a pension providing their farmland as a mortgage.
To pull up the country's sagging exports, the government chose five key items to nurture. Cosmetics, food and beverage, daily goods, products for children and fashion items were designated as new growth areas for the export market.
The government also plans to develop industrial complexes in Vietnam and Myanmar for Korean small and medium companies that want to set up manufacturing facilities there.
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