S. Korea to ease regulations on theme parks to boost investment

SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Wednesday that it will ease
regulations and provide incentives to encourage foreign investors to build
large-scale theme parks here as part of its efforts to attract more overseas
investment aimed at accelerating the nation's economic recovery.

It will also reduce regulations on foreign education institutes here in a bid to
reduce a trade deficit caused by a growing number of students seeking better
education abroad.
These and others are part of measures unveiled by the Ministry of Strategy and
Finance and related government agencies which agreed to bolster domestic demand
and keep the economic recovery sustainable.
"Hard-hit by the global financial and economic downturn, our economy and
financial system are recently stabilizing. However, except for the government-led
fiscal spending and tax incentives, the private sector is not able to grow on its
own," the ministry said in a statement.
"The government's limited fiscal capacity, a possible delay in the recovery of
export markets, rising oil prices and the future moves of the local currency
still remain as uncertain factors. As an economy that depends much on external
factors, we need to strengthen our domestic demand base in order to accelerate
economic recovery and keep the rebound sustainable," it added.
Under the measures, the government said that it will provide diverse incentives
for foreign investors when they borrow land from state-invested or public
companies in the provincial region to build a large-scale theme park.
Foreigners will get an extended land-borrowing period with their landing fees be
reduced, the same benefits they could receive when borrowing land from the
central and municipal governments, the ministry said.
Regulations will also be removed to lure foreign education facilities, the
ministry added. The government plans to pass a bill - currently pending in
parliament -- by the end of this year aimed at allowing operators of foreign
schools to send their bottom-line surplus to their own countries.
In a bid to induce domestic consumption, the government is weighing an option to
ease regulations on building golf courses across the country. Currently, many
environment-related regulations hamper the construction of golf courses if it
causes adverse impact on water sources.
In a related move, the government will invest more in building the nation's
tourism infrastructure especially in the nation's farming and fishing villages,
while constructing diverse leisure facilities by capitalizing on the nation's
affluent maritime resources, the ministry said.
Those measures were unveiled as South Korea's economy is recently showing signs
of rebounding from the worst downturn in more than a decade, driven by
government-led fiscal spending and other stimulus measures.
The government, however, has raised concerns that it will be less capable of
shoring up the economy in the months to come after it increased spending much to
stimulate the economy in the first half, calling for the private sector to take
up the "baton" to accelerate the economic recovery.
Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun told a meeting earlier in the day that the
government will focus its policy efforts on increasing investment in the private
sector.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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