The government released an investment stimulus package, which includes the easing of a broad range of regulations across seven businesses in the service industry including health care and medical services, tourism and content development, education, finance, logistics and software.

The purpose of the latest measures is to ease regulations, attract investment of 15 trillion won, and create 180,000 more jobs. But a heated debate is expected as most of the government’s measures are nothing but what companies represented by the Federation of Korean Industries and the local governments of provinces and metropolitan cities had requested.

In particular, the measures include various ways to promote for-profit medical services in the health care field. Thus fierce resistance from the medical community and civic groups are expected.

On August 12, the government held the sixth trade and investment promotion meeting presided by President Park Geun-hye at Cheong Wa Dae and finalized and announced an investment stimulus package including the promotion of seven businesses in the service industry.

This day, President Park said, “Due to old regulations, a closed market structure, complex interests and social debate, promising industries are becoming our Achilles heel.”

The investment stimulus package which the government released this day focuses on promoting for-profit health care, supporting casino resort compounds currently being promoted in Yeongjongdo and Jeju-do Island, and permitting the construction of cable cars in national parks. The government decided to enact a special bill on international health care (tentative name) to attract more than 500,000 patients from abroad by 2017.

This legislation contains provisions which will allow health care providers to engage in for-profit activities such as advertisement and investment. In addition, the government will ease regulations on for-profit foreign hospitals in the free economic zone to levels equal to Jeju-do, and will determine whether to approve the establishment of Saner Hospital in Jejudo, which China’s CSC has requested, by September. Later this year, the government will enact an Act on the Protection and Usage of Medical Information, after which medical institutions will be able to share a patient’s medical records with the patient’s consent.

The government also decided to help the construction of four casino compounds currently being promoted: LOCZ, Paradise, and Dream Island in Yeongjongdo and the Mythology & History Park in Jeju-do. In addition, the government plans to repromote an international theme park in Songsan Green City in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.

Despite environmental concerns, the government decided to actively promote the construction of cable cars in national parks. The government plans to carry out measures to install cable cars in Osaek Yaksu in Seoraksan in Yangyang-gun, Gangwon Province, which had been pushed aside more than ten years ago.

The government and the city of Seoul will also draw up a master plan for the comprehensive development of the Han River in the first half of next year. They will promote a second Namsan cable car in the site of TBS Broadcasting Station in Myeongdong. Resort condominiums to attract foreign tourists will also be allowed for sale to foreigners--sale to individuals--in areas outside of Jeju.

The government decided to increase the price limit of the KOSPI index to ±30% from the current ±15% as early as January next year and to create television home-shopping channels for agricultural products and products by small and medium-sized enterprises.