The government has rated the special measures offering reduced usage fees for state-owned properties, including land, to returning corporations and corporations specialized in materials, parts, and equipment as 'insufficient' in its evaluation. Normally, the support with an 'insufficient' rating should end in line with its sunset period. However, considering the economic situation, the government decided to conditionally extend the special measures for another three years.
According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 23rd, the government announced the legislative notice for the 'Partial Amendment Bill on the Special Measures for State-Owned Properties' that day. The core content is to extend 15 cases of the state-owned property special measures, which were scheduled to sunset at the end of this year.
The state-owned property special measures are a system that provides benefits to corporations or institutions by reducing usage fees or permitting long-term use based on individual laws. Currently, a total of 217 special measures are being implemented under 182 laws. It is estimated that the scale of reductions due to these special measures amounts to approximately 1 trillion won annually.
The amended Special Measures for State-Owned Properties law in 2021 mandates the implementation of a 'continuation evaluation for special measures' to enhance efficiency. The government revised the enforcement ordinance last November and conducted the first continuation evaluation from March to June this year.
The evaluation was conducted by comprehensively reviewing factors such as achievement of objectives (10 points), utilization plan (20 points), performance (10 points), necessity under government policies and laws (30 points), appropriateness of the scale of special measure expenditures (10 points), and comparisons between related support policies (10 points). A score of over 60 is required to recognize the need for continuation.
Among the evaluations this time, 10 special measures provided to free economic zones, the Korea National Park Service, and the Youth Protection Association passed the continuation evaluation. The reduction in state-owned property usage fees for these measures will be extended by five years, and the long-term use permits will be extended by eight years.
However, the five special measures applicable to returning corporations, specialized zones for materials and parts, job creation projects, and local self-sufficiency centers did not score over 60 points in the evaluation and received an 'insufficient' rating.
In the past, when corporations that had gone overseas returned and rented state-owned land, they could receive up to a 50% reduction in rents. The specialized zones for materials and parts have also been reducing rents considering job creation and local economic revitalization by the local government that established the zones. However, it turns out that corporations have not actively utilized these support systems.
According to the regulations, special measures rated as 'insufficient' should all conclude by the end of this year, which is the scheduled sunset period. However, the government decided to extend these special measures conditionally for three years, considering that they all contain support content aimed at corporations and the necessity to support corporations amid recent economic downturns.
Regarding the insufficient evaluation, the relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, noted that 'insufficient promotion of special measures utilization is to blame' and confirmed that 'they will actively promote it in the future.'
A government official stated, 'In light of the growing need for government support for corporations, we have given time for each ministry to support the special measures more actively for the next three years,' adding, 'We plan to reevaluate the performance in the future.'
The Ministry of Economy and Finance plans to publicly disclose the results of the continuation evaluation of the state-owned property special measures through its website in September.