Korean government’s innovative policies awarded in event

The panel of judges [Photo by Han Joo-hyung]

Six policies introduced by the South Korean government this year, including a package of support for newborns, have been awarded for their contributions to national development and boosting people’s convenience.

The ceremony will take place in Seoul on Wednesday for the annual event hosted by Maeil Business Newspaper and supported by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI).

The awards are offered to government employees or divisions, recognizing their contributions to society as a whole by coming up with innovative measures for the common good.

There are six awards, including the KyungSe (meaning awakening the public in Korean) Award presented by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economy; the Jemin (meaning ordinary folks) Award, granted by the Deputy Prime Minister of Social Affairs and Minister of Education; and the Innovation Award awarded by the Chairman of Maekyung Media Group.

This year’s winner of the KyungSe Award was the officials of the Budget Division of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The government employees were recognized for their sincere efforts to find solutions to tackle the country’s record low birth rates.

The policymaking officials pointed to housing issues as the primary cause behind fewer marriages and childbirths in the country.

As many of the country’s regulations on home ownership work against double-income couples, newlyweds tend to delay having children until purchasing their own house.

For example, while the annual income threshold for home mortgage loans is 60 million won ($46,100) per person, newlyweds have a combined threshold of 70 million won.

In response, the division has implemented three distinct initiatives – special loans, special sales, and special leases – designed to provide advantages for couples with newborns.

The income threshold for special loans has been raised from 70 million won to 130 million won, the home value from 600 million won to 900 million won, and the loan limit from 400 million won to 500 million won.

Furthermore, a special housing supply program has been introduced to enhance the prospects of securing a home for households with newborns.

The Jemin Award recognized the Taxpayer Advocacy Bureau of the National Tax Service for promoting the Tax Point System, an initiative that offers extra points to retail and corporate taxpayers based on their tax payments.

Although introduced in 2004, the initiative has been less known to the public due to budget issues. Furthermore, taxpayers had limited places to use their cashable points.

To address these issues, the National Tax Service devised cost-effective strategies to promote the program, such as ad campaigns at high-traffic train and subway stations.

Moreover, the tax regulators partnered with mobile payments platforms like Kakao Pay and Toss, enabling users to view their tax points through various online applications.

With additional partnerships with small-to-medium enterprises, the regulators brought taxpayers a broader range of options to spend their points.