Government to Found Overseas Economy Ministers Council

The government is founding an `overseas economy ministers council`, a body that reviews and adjusts economic policies, to keep up with outer economy condition and trade environment change.

At a cabinet meeting presided by prime minister Lee Han-Dong, the government passed yesterday a proposal to found the `outer economy ministers council` at the central government building in Seoul.

According to the proposal, the once-a-month overseas economy ministers council is presided by the minister of finance and economy, and is made up with ministers of agriculture and forestry, industry and energy, planning and budget, affairs of the state, foreign affairs and trade, presidential economy secretary, and other heads of related departments.

In addition, for more efficient operation for the council, a practical affair adjustment council, in which vice ministers of related department participate as members under the leadership of the vice minister of the foreign affairs and trade, will be established as well.

The cabinet members also passed an international postal service reform proposal, which is to improve the international postal service system by cutting a part of postal rates, and by allowing customers to pay through credit cards rather than cash or postage stamps only.

The cabinet members also passed the reform bill on the farmland exploitation law. The new reform bill includes a law that reduces the farmland preparation rate until 2011 in case of building an agricultural product circulation center outside of the agriculture promotional districts, and until 2011 for a case of building a space center facility in the same districts.

They passed the national defense university enforcement reform bill as well, in which they extended the current two school years for its master program to more than two years.

Boo Hyung-Kwon bookum90@donga.com