South Korea Deputy PM Lee Hyung-il outlines economic reforms

During recent National Assembly audits and meetings with economic organizations, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Lee Hyung-il outlined several key economic and structural reform initiatives for South Korea.

Regarding public sector reform, Lee announced plans to expand restructuring to include subsidiaries and small-scale institutions to reduce costs and eliminate management blind spots. He also emphasized the need to strategically redeploy public institution functions to respond to AI transitions and regional decline.

On the issue of cryptocurrency taxation, scheduled for January next year, Lee stated he would broadly collect opinions from experts and industry stakeholders amidst political debate. While the ruling Democratic Party supports proceeding as planned to maintain legislative reliability, the People Power Party has raised concerns regarding insufficient tax infrastructure for decentralized finance (DeFi) and potential capital flight.

Lee also addressed broader economic stability, focusing on three core social policies: housing, jobs, and microfinance. This includes the rapid supply of 1.19 million public housing units and support for vulnerable borrowers. To boost growth, the government aims to resolve field-level grievances for businesses, support mega-projects, and pursue strategic investment projects with the United States, including a $150 billion shipbuilding cooperation project.