Four-Year Corporate-Income Tax Cut for Job-Creating Start-ups

The government is seeking to provide a 50-100 percent exemption in corporate and income tax according to the employment increase rate to new job-creating companies over the next four years, and give further tax cuts of one million won per person every time a new worker is added to the payroll.

The Ministry of Finance and Economy reported the measures to alleviate unemployment in front of the Uri Party’s Special Committee on Job Creation held this day at the National Assembly with relevant economic department heads present. At the meeting, the Ministry of Information and Communication pledged to encourage research centers of national polices to hire talents with master’s and doctorate degrees with the goal of adding 2,500 jobs, supporting overseas training and education regarding IT, and establishing a knowledge-information database.

The Ministry of Science and Technology claimed it would introduce an “employment scheme for the science and engineering workforce” from the end of this year, encourage government-funded institutions to hire over a certain rate of science and engineering talents when newly recruiting, and will promise financial support to research centers and institutions of corporations hiring those with master’s or doctorate degrees in science or engineering.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare revealed its plan to expand the number of participants in the self-supporting program stipulated by the National Basic Livelihood Security Act from the current 40,000 to 60,000, and provide jobs to 25,000 senior citizens as traffic and environment workers by establishing a senior citizen workforce management center.

Furthermore, the government is planning to enhance facility investment in the manufacturing sector and strengthen policy support for construction, wholesale and retail, and service sectors to enhance employment. Such actions stem from the assessment that confidence is low regarding stable employment with the slowdown in wholesale and retail, and the construction industry.

Regarding these pledges, committee member Jung Jang-sun vowed, “The actual effectiveness of government policies announced today will be thoroughly investigated at the field.”

Jong-Koo Yoon jkmas@donga.com