By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter

The administration will review up to 4,000 existing regulations on the technology sector and remove outdated ones to encourage firms to invest more in developing technologies, the Presidential Committee on National Competitiveness said Wednesday.

According to the committee, an average Korean company spends 25 billion won ($22 million) annually in additional costs due to complicated and unnecessary rules.

The government should revise these so that firms can concentrate on promoting productivity and technological innovation, the committee said in a report to President Lee Myung-bak.

As part of such efforts, the government plans to introduce more ``sunset'' regulations to help firms adjust to the changing needs of the market.

Expiring rules will be subject to comprehensive reviews and fact-finding surveys so that outdated and inefficient regulations can be scrapped early, the panel said.

The move is part of the government's ongoing efforts to cut regulatory red tape and boost administrative efficiency for corporations and the public. It also aims to attract more foreign investors by fostering a more business-friendly environment.

``I believe such measures will help firms improve their long-term growth potential and meet customers' needs,'' the committee's chairman Kang Man-soo said.

The committee also proposed measures to adopt globally-accepted traffic light systems.

The update will help save up to five trillion won in taxpayers' money annually in dealing with accidents and air pollution, committee officials said.

Reduced traffic congestion will also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles, which currently account for nearly 80 percent of emissions from all means of transportation, they said.

The government also plans to introduce traffic lights for cyclists under a project to build more bike-only lanes nationwide.

jckim@koreatimes.co.kr