By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
The next government plans to loosen regulations on foreign professionals entering the country, including giving residency rights to foreign investors.
The measure is part of the incoming administration's program to give advantages to foreign professionals willing to work in Korea.
Briefing members of the presidential transition team on the program on Sunday, officials of the Justice Ministry said residency rights will be also given to technicians with state-of-the-art skills.
Permanent residency will be offered to foreign nationals meeting certain requirements, the officials said.
Also, a personnel pool of ethnic Koreans from China, Russia and other central Asian countries will be created.
``We should seek to loosen regulations on, and increase benefits for foreign nationals investing in the country. We need to lift the level of the business environment to that of Malaysia or Dubai,'' a transition team member said.
The ministry said that allowing dual nationality for those who perform their mandatory military service was another way of bringing talented Koreans back to work in Korea.
The team also called for restructuring of the legal sector to reach global standards ahead of the expected competition with foreign legal firms following the signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States which is awaiting parliamentary ratification.
``As the legal sector is opening its doors to foreign firms it should consider restructuring to adjust to the new environment,'' Kim Hyong-o, vice chairman of the transition committee, said.
The team also stated the prosecution must conduct investigations in a fair manner.
``The incoming administration wants the prosecution to work for the people and gain their trust,'' Kim said. ``The prosecution should make every effort not to be seen as conducting excessive and targeted investigations.''
However, he noted that accounting fraud or the creation of slush funds should be thoroughly investigated, stressing that corporations should be severely punished for internal irregularities while not being interfered with by unnecessary probes.
In order to do so, the prosecution should maintain political neutrality and offer a fair service to the public, he emphasized.
In addition to prosecution reform, the team was briefed on measures to deal with illegal collective action. The team assumes those actions cost around 12.3 trillion won a year _ about 1.53 percent of GDP.
The Justice Ministry is considering introducing new regulations that penalize civic groups staging demonstrations in support of illegal strikes.
This is to curb illegal practices at rallies and create a sound and stable environment for businesses in Korea, Kim explained.
If the regulations come into effect, any civic groups that are involved in illegal rallies would face a government subsidy reduction, a ministry official said.
Moreover, those groups initiating illegal action will not be allowed the chance to take part in state-funded research.