Lee calls for tax breaks for workers in Middle East

President Lee Myung-bak instructed officials Friday to ponder measures to give tax breaks and other economic benefits to Korean workers in the Middle East, as his government encourages companies to win the lion's share of contracts in the oil-rich region.

After a three-nation tour to the region earlier this month, Lee has repeatedly said he saw good business opportunities in the Middle East. Referring to a construction boom in the region in the 1970s, Lee said there will be a "second Middle East boom" as countries there plan massive construction and infrastructure projects.

Lee "orders officials to review tax measures to effectively benefit workers who are making inroads into the Middle East," presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha quoted Lee as saying at a meeting with economy-related officials and top executives of major construction firms.

Lee also instructed officials to negotiate with governments in the Middle East to help support the same education costs for children of Korean workers or businessmen there as for local students, Park said.

Korean construction firms profited from a construction boom in the Middle East in the 1970s, partly helping the country build an economic miracle from the ruins of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Lee said the "second Middle East boom" would also help ease the high unemployment rate for young people in Korea.

"With the second Middle East boom, the government must actively support young people finding jobs," Park quoted Lee as saying. (Yonhap)