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One year ago today, President Park Geun-hye was sworn in as Korea's 11th president.
She marked the occasion on this Tuesday with a televised address to the nation, in which
she laid out the details of her three-year economic innovation plan.
Our presidential office correspondent Eoh Jin-joo has the details. "Reunification of
the two Koreas will be a bonanza." In line with this comment made in her New
Year's address,... President Park announced plans to set up a presidential "reunification
preparation committee" to seek out ways to bring about,... what she called,... a "systematic
and constructive" reunification.
"The committee will be in charge of preparing for a reunification on the Korean peninsula
and expanding inter-Korean dialogue and private exchanges."
The committee will operate beyond the purview of the unification ministry,... with experts
and civic groups from various sectors ranging from foreign affairs and security to the economy
and culture, drawing up a specific blueprint for a unified Korea.
In her three-year economic innovation plan unveiled in Tuesday's address,... President
Park vowed to raise the nation's potential economic growth rate to above 4 percent and
per capita income to 40-thousand dollars... by the year 2017.
She put forth three goals -- creating "an economy with strong fundamentals," making
"an innovative and dynamic economy" and establishing "an economy that balances domestic demand
and exports." The president said... she will start with
rooting out abnormal policies and wrong practices, especially in the public sector.
President Park pledged to reduce and cap the debt ratio of public institutions at 200 percent,...
which is the upper limit for private companies to issue corporate bonds.
The Korea Land and Housing Corporation, for example, which has debts of more than 128
billion U.S. dollars, had a debt ratio of over 400 percent, as of last year.
For an "innovative economy"...
"The government plans to invest a total of $3.7 billion to create a better business ecosystem
for start-ups and venture firms."
She also promised to increase investment in research and development to 5 percent of the
country's GDP by 2017. Boosting domestic demand comes as an important
part of her goal for a "balanced economy."
"The president set a target of reducing the country's household debt ratio by 5 percentage
points by 2017, by handing out tax benefits and introducing fixed interest rates and level
debt services for mortgage loans. Eoh Jin-joo, Arirang News."