Gov't gets fair marks for removing red tape: poll

SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- The government received fair marks for removing
administrative red tape cited for delaying economic recovery and national
efficiency, a poll conducted by a local umbrella business group said Sunday.
The poll conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) on university
professors, researchers and executives of the country's top 40 conglomerates
showed 49 percent of respondents expressing satisfaction with measures taken so
far.
It said that at 53.3 percent, the positive reaction was higher among businessmen
versus the 42.9 percent registered among other experts, indicating that changes
are being felt at the working level.
The lobbying group for large businesses said that satisfaction among executives
in particular shot up from just 27.1 percent from February of this year.
"The move by the Lee Myung-bak administration to scrap 60 restrictions in the
last year, including such controversial measures like easing investment between
manufacturing and financial companies, received high marks," the report said. It
added entrepreneurs responded favorably to Seoul's decision to do away with many
rules that have made it hard to invest in and around the capital city of Seoul,"
the FKI said.
Local companies have voiced criticism that limiting ownership of financial firms
by manufacturing companies hurt overall competitiveness and allowed foreign
companies to buy up local banks and financial institutions.
They have been asking for relaxed rules on building and expanding new plants in
and around Seoul since the region has abundant manpower and a well-built
industrial infrastructure.
Past governments have encouraged companies to relocate outside of Seoul and
Gyeonggi Province as a way to push forward balanced regional growth and reduce
economic concentration in a certain area.
Since taking office in February 2008, the new administration has taken on a
"business friendly" stance and moved to ax 160 regulatory regulations criticized
for being redundant.
This compares favorably to the 360 rules newly created under the previous
administration that emphasized distribution of wealth and social welfare.
The poll, meanwhile, showed that scholars and businessmen were disappointed in
the level of change within the bureaucracy.
It said 43.1 percent of respondents said they were not happy with changes in the
government, with the approval rate standing at 17.7 percent.
The FKI said that while companies were upbeat about the changes that have been
made, 86.3 percent conceded that this has not translated into effective
investment and job creation.
It claimed that economic conditions are making it hard for decisions to be made
that can lead to investments.
The global economy has been reeling from the collapse of Lehman Brothers since
last year. The financial shock that swept through the world hit South Korea hard
since the country relies heavily on trade to fuel its growth.
The country is expected to post negative growth this year on weak export demand,
sluggish consumption, weak investment and very few new jobs being created.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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