Hospitals to run hotels
* Gov’t unveils measures to bolster investment, create more jobs
By Yi Whan-woo
Hospitals will be allowed to run hotels to be called meditels for foreigners seeking medical treatment here in order to attract more foreign tourists and boost the domestic medical tourism industry, the government said Wednesday.
The government will also ease regulations to allow companies to build additional factories in development-restricted greenbelts.
These are part of government deregulation measures announced Wednesday to reinvigorate corporate investment and create more jobs, ththu bolstering economic recovery.
“The prolonged economic slump has been unfavorable to corporate investment and the overall investment sentiment among firms is also freezing with repeated emergences of crises,” the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said in a statement.
“There are concerns that if corporate investment does not improve anytime soon, it could result in delaying economic recovery and eventually undermining growth potential,” it added.
The ministry expects its latest measure to allow the operation of meditels will boost medical tourism as well as the tourism industry in general.
Korea earned 239.1 billion won ($216.47 million) in 2012 from medical tourism, with the number of foreign patients reaching 155,672, up from 122,297 in 2011, according to the government.
It plans to provide improved medical care services, such as remote medical examinations, by establishing infrastructures using information and communications technology (ICT).
The government also said it will ease investment regulations in the ICT industry by allowing foreigners to own up to 100 percent of network operating companies. Overseas investors are currently allowed to purchase up to 49 percent in such firms. They, however, will still be prohibited from owning 100-percent shares in the nation’s mobile communications giants, SK Telecom and KT.
Other measures to ease regulations to boost corporate investments include allowing plants to be constructed on greenbelts.
Currently, owners of plants in the development-restricted zones have to pay the government to build additional facilities.
The government said it will cut the payment by half and at the same time significantly reduce the time it takes to receive a construction permit.
Foreign companies planning to open plants in industrial complexes will also benefit from eased regulations.
The government plans to make some exceptions in enforcing the regulations for foreign-invested corporations, allowing them to separately lease land.
Companies currently cannot lease land separately in such areas but are required to lease land along with plants. These regulations are designed to prevent them from engaging in speculative real estate investment.
The government said it considered 250 recommendations from entrepreneurs since March on how to improve regulations to could stimulate investment.
These recent measures are expected to translate into about 12 trillion won ($10.9 billion) in additional corporate investment, if all are immediately enforced. About 10 large companies are likely to benefit from the investment-stimulating drive, the government said.