The government said in the statement it would help the number of weekly flights to and from China, Japan and Southeast Asia rise by September to 90% of that operating in 2019, compared with some 60% in February. Other than that, measures included in the more than 30-page statement were mostly low-key ones as the government is worried about rekindling slowing but still sticky inflation. South Korea's policy authorities are faced with the double task of keeping the economy from cooling too fast while making sure that inflation continues to head down below the 2% target. Ratings agency S&P Global Ratings said in a report on Sunday growth in South Korea's trade-reliant economy would slow to 1.1% this year, far below the government's projection of 1.6%, from 2.6% last year. Inflation, however, remains more than twice the central bank's target although falling in recent months, making it difficult for the authorities to shift policy focus away from a tightening bias. (Reporting by Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Michael Perry)
(Updates with government announcement of details)
By Choonsik Yoo
SEOUL, March 29 (Reuters) - South Korea unveiled on
Wednesday a package of measures aimed at boosting domestic
consumption, but stopped short of offering big-ticket plans for
fear of stoking inflation, which is slowing but still high.
The government said in a statement distributed by the
finance ministry that it would implement steps necessary to
attract more foreign tourists and boost their spending while
staying in the country.
The measures were reported at a meeting headed by President
Yoon Suk Yeol, who said at the beginning that the government
needs to take steps to attract more foreign tourists, such as
increasing international flights.
"The conditions are forming so that we can aim to help the
consumption and tourism business operations recover to the
levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic," Yoon said.
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