Yesterday, the government announced measures to attract investment on 218 items in the tourism, venture startup and construction sectors. The government sought measures to draw investment as exports and domestic demand remain sluggish and investment shows signs of shrinking with the onset of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) crisis. The government expected the latest measures to draw over 5 trillion won in investments. The government seems to have determined that it will not be easy to stimulate the economy just with a fiscal stimulus package of 22 trillion won including the supplementary budget, and so again focused on loosening regulations to solve the problem.

The government's decision to ease regulations concerning mountain areas to promote mountain tourism has chosen mountains as a subject for the easing of regulations following the greenbelt areas. About 64% of South Korea's land is mountainous and among them 70% are conservation mountain areas where development is prohibited. Other than conservation mountain areas, areas near the summit or slopes of 25 degrees or higher cannot be developed. However, in the future, if these areas are designated as "mountain tourism promotion areas," they will be free from the ban on development. People will be able to build golf courses, sports and entertainment facilities, accommodations, commercial facilities, production facilities and recreational facilities in mountain tourism promotion areas. The government says it will design measures for environmental conservation and conduct an evaluation of the environmental impact, but the reckless development that will ensue is obvious. Mountain tourism areas will be designated after a review when the business operator submits a plan. The area must be at least 30,000m2. In other words, the government will only allow large companies that are capable of funding such a project.

The latest measures to promote mountain tourism were almost a complete copy of the "Government Tasks to Promote Mountain Tourism," which the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) suggested to the government a month ago. At the time the Federation of Korean Industries pointed out that the competition to book a place at a mountain shelter was almost a hundred to one. The reason the government had not increased the shelter facilities was because too many hikers can destroy the environment. The limited shelter facilities were a way to limit the number of visitors to the mountain. But the Korean businesses considered this a regulation. FKI presented the hotels at the top of the mountain in Japan and Switzerland as examples. In the case of Japan and Switzerland, they have railroads running near the mountain summit. FKI ignored the fact that in South Korea, they will have to carve out and pave a road from the foot of the mountain to build accommodations at the top. We understand that the government is desperate to revive the economy. But it is dangerous to blindly listen to the argument of large companies that claim they will invest if the government eases regulations. There is a somewhat reasonable reason behind every regulation. If the government ignores such reasons and gets rid of the restrictions, it can lead to greater side effects. In particular, regulations on the environment are difficult to tighten once they're loosened. The government should realize that the social costs to restore the damage are much bigger.