Privatization Plan for State Firms to Gather Steam
By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter
President-elect Lee Myung-bak pledged Thursday to secure 20-30 trillion won to support small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the privatization of state-run firms and banks.
Lee made the promise during his meeting with CEOs at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business in Yeouido, Seoul.
``I will also lower corporate and inheritance taxes,'' Lee added.
The President-elect also said SMEs will get priority in industrial policy. ``We will encourage conglomerates to be globally competitive and help SMEs to get more funds.''
He also unveiled plans to set up scholarship foundations for the children of SME employees; to cut interest rates on credit card transactions of the self-employed; and to allocate more than 1 trillion won to research and development of high-end technology.
During his campaign, Lee said the public sector, including state-owned banks, was getting bigger, but its efficiency was getting worse. As they were not sufficiently monitored, they were being poorly managed, while others called them ``God-blessed'' work places, he said.
``While their profits are going down, their debts and number of employees are increasing,'' he said.
The Korea Development Bank (KDB) is one of firm for privatization Lee has in mind.
Many experts have called for its privatization, saying that it has outlived its original function.
The Korea Electric Power Corp., Korea Gas Corp. and Korea District Heating Corp are also targets for privatization.