SEOUL, KOREA - The government provided in the third National Economic Advisory Council meeting held at the Korea Development Institute on November 28 a blueprint for development of the services industry that has not seen progress due to opposition from interest groups in the previous administration.

 

The council made policy suggestions on ways to nurture high value-added services industries such as education, tourism, and medical services.

 

A Presidential Palace official said, "The proposals are not just ideas thrown on the wall, but something that has gone through ministerial discussions and thus is highly likely to be implemented as actual policy measures."

 

The major reform measures taken during the Lee Myung-bak government were relaxation of rules on for-profit hospitals and allowing non-licensed personnel to enter the business. But the proposal to permit more for-profit hospitals to be established was defeated on the grounds that it would polarize the medical profession and may deteriorate the quality of medical services for low-income patients. As for the lifting of regulation on licensing requirement, fierce opposition by interest groups killed it.

 

Yu Byung-gyu, head of the National Economic Advisory Council, said, "The biggest reason the services industry was unable to progress has to do with the fact that the participants were obsessed with ideological debate about regulation and deregulation. We are trying to approach the issue instead of pushing ahead with policy measures that may cause controversy."