Economic policies under fire at interpellation

Lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties, during the parliamentary interpellation of the government's economic policies at the Assembly plenary session Thursday, harshly criticized the administration for its easy-going policy operation, noting that a vicious circle has been repeated in nonviability in the restructuring due to the policy failures.

Rep. Park Jong-Keun of the opposition Grand National Party said that the number of nonviable enterprises was increasing due to the lack of standards of regulating the nonviable businesses and that a new system is needed to prevent the deterioration and the expansion of nonviability.

Rep. Chang Sung-Won of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party expressed fears of massive capital flight if the second round of foreign exchange liberalization, the imposition of global taxes and the partial deposit insurance system are implemented in January, calling for the government's comprehensive counter-measures in this regard.

Rep. Paek Seung-Hong of the GNP, noting that 38 of 100 large-scale construction companies have been ordered to be liquidated and therefore the construction industry is on the brink of collapse, demanded the government work out plans to revive the construction market.

Prime Minister Lee Han-Dong said in replies that the reason that South American nations experienced second economic crises was due to the established, privileged echelon's resistance against the reforms but that the government is steadfastly promoting reform drives on the basis of popular consensus.

The prime minister answered that the government would positively foster information-communications and bioengineering industries as means of providing jobs for 2 million people during the coming three years, adding that the projected global taxation system and the deposit guarantee systems could be implemented, as the government has prepared supplementary steps in this connection.

Referring to Kim Woo-Choong, former Daewoo Group chairman now staying abroad, Prime Minister Lee said that the government would persuade him to return home but that if he refused to do so, the government would study ways of investigating him in association with his responsibility for the Daewoo failures.

Finance-Economy Minister Jin Nyum said that though the nation's microeconomy will deteriorate considerably in the first half of next year, but if the ongoing structural reform is successfully carried out, the practical economy and market would be recovered around next spring. The minister predicted then that 8 percent of economic growth could be attained next year.

Minister Jin, referring to the suspected illegal inheritance of wealth involving Samsung Group, stated that the National Tax Service was conducting an investigation to shed light on the suspicions.