Kim turns to welfare promises

The government will restrain increases in education costs such as school and private institute tuition during the year, President Kim Dae-jung and his ministers agreed Wednesday. Mr. Kim and his ministers met to lay plans for the second of his four policy priorities for the year － citizen livelihood － at a Blue House meeting. The government also said it will build 300,000 houses in the capital region.

The administration will confer with university presidents and education officials this month to jawbone a stop to school tuition hikes. In February, the government will survey fees for private educational institutes nationwide.

"Tuition for private education programs is skyrocketing, putting a heavy burden on household budgets," a Finance and Economy Ministry official said after the meeting. "The central government will work on regional education offices to restrain those price hikes." Punitive actions such as penalty taxes and the revocation of business licenses will be taken against the institutes that collect tuition fees higher than the amounts the institutes report, the official said.

The president urged public enterprises to streamline their management to hold the line on fees for public services. He specifically mentioned transportation costs.

The government will build 550,000 housing units this year, of which 200,000 will be subsidized public housing. In order to stimulate the domestic construction industry, construction of 300,000 of the 550,000 units will be started in the first half.

Persons who receive government income subsidies will get income tax deductions for interest earned on investments of more than 3 years duration with a limit of 3 million won ($2,300) in principal, the ministers announced.

"Until now, the government has put all its efforts into reviving the economy and reforming our society," President Kim said.

"Now, it is time to concentrate on stabilizing the livelihood of working and middle-class people."

The president said he was stressing price stability because the elections and two major sports events this year, soccer's World Cup and the Asian Games, could trigger inflation.

by Chun Young-gi