Finance minister nominee vows to boost employment, consumption

SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's finance minister-designate said Friday
that he plans to strengthen the government's fiscal policy to create new jobs and
resuscitate falling domestic spending amid an economic downturn.
"Putting emphasis on job creation, I plan to take strong and proactive fiscal
measures to prompt domestic spending," Yoon Jeung-hyun, the finance
minister-designate, said at his confirmation hearing at the National Assembly.
Yoon, a former head of the Financial Supervisory Commission, was nominated by
President Lee Myung-bak in late January to replace the widely criticized minister
Kang Man-soo.
The minister nominee also said he was confident that the country can pull out of
the economic difficulties, citing the nation's "past experience in overcoming
crises and the people's potential."
"We can definitely overcome the current difficulties," Yoon said. He also
stressed the importance of coordinated efforts by market participants, citing
"limitations" in measures carried out solely by the government.
He also vowed to expand social safety nets and said that he plans to expand tax
benefits and other support for companies that contribute to job creations.
Yoon, meanwhile, downplayed allegations that his wife's purchase of farmland
south of Seoul years ago was made for speculative purposes.
"The purchase was not speculative. In my 35 years of public service, I would have
not been able to win trust from my fellow workers if I have done such things," he
said.
On a separate allegation that he failed to pay gift tax in offering hundreds of
millions of won to his daughter to help her buy an expensive home in Seoul, Yoon
said that he wasn't aware of the situation, because his wife alone was involved.
(END)