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| The National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul Korea Times file |
By Lee Kyung-min
Businesses are calling on the National Assembly for the swift passage of a series of proposed bills to reinvigorate the economy hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly concerning digitization, the removal of barriers to corporate investment and telemedicine.
They say it is most important the bills be passed before the end of May when the Assembly's regular session is scheduled to end. Once the 20th session expires, 11 pending bills will be discarded, leading to a waste of time and resources given lawmakers of the newly formed 21st Assembly must repeat the same drafting process all over again.
According to the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), bills concerning digitization include ways to set up infrastructure and foster industries that do not involve in-person transactions.
They are part of the "Korean New Deal," a government-led initiative to identify key sustainable growth engines to help the country turn the virus-sparked economic crisis into an opportunity.
Chief among them is abolishing a government-certified personal identity verification system, a time-consuming and complex process long criticized for its inefficiency by industry officials and general users at large.
The bill instead seeks to introduce other means of identity verification including a "digital signature," which the organization considers a more effective way to manage personal information online.
"Digital transactions should be easy, quick and convenient, not one of which is true for the current government-monopolized system. The absurd and outdated system is the single most significant roadblock to the development of new certification technologies," KCCI Corporate Policy Director Kim Hyun-soo said.
Also included is allowing telemedicine on a limited yet regular basis, a decades-long government effort repeatedly frustrated due to a fierce backlash from powerful interest groups ― most notably doctors.
"The virus pandemic clearly illustrated the efficacy and efficiency of digital technology-based consultations, treatment and diagnosis. Telemedicine is in place in many advanced countries and it is high time that the bill first introduced in the 17th Assembly is passed," Kim said.
The businesses called for more "aggressive" tax benefits for hard-hit firms, pointing to similar economic relief measures undertaken in times of recession following a worse-than-expected downturn.
Ten percent of corporate investment spending should be deductible for three years starting 2020, they claim, highlighting that the only way to restore business confidence in times of extreme distress is to cut taxes.
"The deductible limit has been on steady decline since the 2009 global financial crisis, and we deem a tax benefit of a similar or greater degree should be given for the next three years to help many firms recover to the pre-virus period," Kim added.
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