SCRAPPING DECLARED VALUE HIKE

SCRAPPING DECLARED VALUE HIKE

[Anchor Lead]
President Yoon Suk Yeol has announced his intention to completely abolish the plan to realistically adjust declared property values during a forum on people's livelihoods. Furthermore, in anticipation of the distribution of medical school quotas, he reiterated his commitment to completing medical reform.

[Pkg]
President Yoon Suk Yeol declared he will completely scrap plans to realistically raise the declared value of properties, a move aimed at reducing housing expenses. He said that owning a single home increases various taxes and fees and can even take away state scholarship and senior welfare benefits, stressing this practice must be fixed.

[Soundbite]
Yoon Suk Yeol (President): Even before legal revision, the gov't will seek various policy means to deliver the same effect as abolishing the plan.

Yoon also called for the redevelopment of old towns or city centers, noting that high standards of life must be expected all across Seoul. He said the government will pursue urban regeneration of renovating outdated housing units through a so-called "New Village” project, and vowed execution within the existing budgetary limit.

[Soundbite]
Yoon Suk Yeol (President): Low interest loans will help renovate decrepit homes. We'll also provide financial support for parking lots, sports fields, CCTVs and more.

In an earlier Cabinet meeting, Yoon also reaffirmed his determination to push ahead with and complete medical reform... calling it the demand of the people. He also made it clear the government will not reconsider its planned med school admissions quota hike. Regarding the mass resignation move by medical professors to join the trainee doctors' walkout, Yoon said that doctor's license, meant to save people's lives, must not be used as a tool to threaten the public.

REAL ESTATE POLICY REVAMPED

[Anchor Lead]
The plan to adjust the declared real estate value to its actual market value, which the government had decided to abolish, was introduced in 2020. The government has stated its commitment to ensure that the increased real estate tax burden, resulting from the unreasonable elevation of the declared value to the market level, will be adjusted in a manner that aligns with fairness and common sense.

[Pkg]
This year's declared real estate value increased an average of 1.52% nationwide, recording the sixth lowest growth since 2005. House prices haven't changed much and the declared value have equaled 69% of the market value for two straight years. A 70% declared value to market value ratio means that a house valued at one billion won, or some 747,000 U.S. dollars, in the market has a declared value of 700 million won, or about 523,000 dollars. In 2020, under the Moon Jae-in administration, the plan to bring up the declared value to the market level was introduced to ensure fair taxation. The plan involved gradually raising the declared value to post a declared value to market value ratio of 90% by 2030. But immediately after the plan was implemented, the declared value in 2021 and 2022 spiked 19% and 17%, respectively. This sparked backlash from homeowners as the declared value affects the calculation of property tax and national health insurance fees.

[Soundbite]
Koh Jae-hyeon (Seoul Resident): It was upsetting to pay more property tax. It was unfair to see the tax increase every year since I didn't buy my house as an investment.

Since the Yoon administration was launched, the ratio was lowered to the 2020 level, but the government has decided not to apply the ratio starting next year.

[Soundbite]
Yoon Suk Yeol (President): Many people are still worried about declared property values going up again.

However, scrapping the plan to match declared values to market levels would require a revision to the Real Estate Registry Act. The government plans to start the revision process in the second half of this year. Even if the law is not changed, the government will aim to achieve the same effect by adjusting the ratio or through other methods.

DECLINE IN WORKING POPULATION

[Anchor Lead]
Since 2020, South Korea has been experiencing a decline in its population, with the total fertility rate steadily decreasing. This year, the fertility rate has dropped to 0.68. The labor market has begun to feel the real impact of this demographic shift. Forecasts suggest that in just four years, the number of people available to work will decrease significantly.

[Pkg]
A manufacturing firm located in Gimpo, Gyeonggido Province. It has struggled to recruit workers for the 10th year. This is why most production line workers are foreign nationals.

[Soundbite]
Kim Dong-hyeon (Manufacturing firm chief): It's difficult to find workers even with wages 1.5-1.7 times higher than the past. The work is strenuous so people avoid it.

Labor shortages at SMEs, outside the capital area and in certain unpopular industries have been a longstanding chronic issue. The bigger problem is a decline in the working population in the years to come. From 2028, the country's economically active population will start to dwindle.. and is expected to shrink by some 240-thousand over the next five years. The age group of 15 to 64 year olds will see a sharp decrease of more than one million.. while seniors 65 and older will rise by some 790-thousand. With seniors taking up a larger portion of society, the shortage of manpower will only accelerate. The number of employed people will also start to fall from the year 2028 but by how much will vary widely depending on the sector. With the aging population, jobs in health and welfare services will see the sharpest spike. while retail, wholesale and manufacturing jobs will post a huge drop due to population decline and the spread of online commerce. The government projects that over 890-thousand additional workforce must be supplied by 2032.. in order to achieve sustained annual economic growth of around 2%. For this, the government believes dormant workforce including unemployed youths, women and the elderly must be brought into the job market. It will also devise more proactive ways to utilize foreign talent.

NUMBER OF MARRIAGES UP SLIGHTLY

[Anchor Lead]
The number of marriages, a leading indicator of birthrate, rose slightly last year. Last year's number of marriages stood at 194,000, up by 2,000 or 1% from the previous year. This is the first increase registered in 12 years. Statistics Korea concluded that the annual number of marriages went up because a surge of weddings postponed due to the pandemic took place early last year.

SMALLER HOSPITALS CROWDED

[Anchor Lead]
Over a month has passed since resident doctors began leaving hospitals in protest against the medical school expansion policy. During this period, there have been significant changes in how patients access healthcare services. Rather than enduring the long waits at busy, large hospitals, people have started turning to smaller, community-based hospitals closer to home.

[Pkg]
This woman in her 60s was diagnosed with cerebral aneurysm at a neighborhood hospital. She then visited a university hospital out of fear her brain blood vessels may burst, but her surgery was postponed indefinitely due to the ongoing trainee doctors' walkout.

[Soundbite]
Park Yong-suk (Cerebral aneurysm patient): I was told my condition was urgent and must visit a bigger hospital. But I was asked to wait indefinitely. I was so nervous.

She urgently searched for a secondary medical institution nearby that specialized in cerebrovascular diseases and was able to receive an operation right away.

[Soundbite]
Park Yong-suk (Cerebral aneurysm patient): I forgot there was a hospital that specialized in cerebrovascular operations at the time. These hospitals should be put to more use.

This small to medium-sized hospital with around 200 sickbeds has seen a 14% increase in outpatient numbers and a 21% hike in hospitalizations amid the strike. Patients who were visiting larger tertiary hospitals are now seeking out secondary smaller clinics. In a bid to seize this opportunity to shore up competitiveness of secondary hospitals, the government is reviewing compensation plans not based on hospital size but speciality and treatment results.

[Soundbite]
Heo Jun (Neurosurgeon, Myongji St. Mary's Hospital): More support goes to top-tier hospitals for treating the same patient. Fees are determined by size, so hospitals like ours are at a disadvantage.

However as the current spike in the use of smaller hospitals is mainly due to the walkout at major general hospitals, it remains to be seen whether this trend will lead to a lasting change. If general hospitals reach a further capacity limit following a possible resignation of medical professors, the burden of treating more seriously ill patients may also be passed on to secondary medical institutions.

CORPORATE VALUE-UP PROGRAM

[Anchor Lead]
In light of the longstanding issue that South Korean corporations have been undervalued and their stock prices have struggled to rise, the government announced the "Value-Up" policy last month. At the time of the announcement, specific benefits for companies that would manage to increase their stock prices were not detailed. However, yesterday, the government officially declared its support through "tax incentives."

[Pkg]
The key point of the Corporate Value-up Program is to have listed companies devise plans on enhancing their stock prices and announce them once a year. Corporate value rises when listed companies proactively buy back and retire their treasury shares or pay more in dividends. But to make companies do so requires compensation. The government has laid out the details of tax breaks related to the Corporate Value-up Program.

[Soundbite]
Choi Sang-mok (Deputy Prime Minister for economic affairs): To encourage more companies to participate in shareholder return by increasing dividends and retiring their treasury stocks,... the corporate tax will be partially eased for the increase in shareholder return.

This apparently means companies that retire their treasury stocks or increase dividends will receive corporate tax breaks. Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok has also vowed to reduce the burden associated with the dividend income tax. The goal is to ensure that shareholders feel the actual increase in dividends. The scope of tax benefits and their method have not been disclosed yet. The government will likely tax dividend incomes separately to apply a lower tax rate, or provide tax credits. An official from the Ministry of Economy and Finance's Tax and Customs Office said the ministry will reach a final decision after weighing all the options, including tax credits, income tax breaks and separate taxation. However, all these measures require tax law amendments and the government's plan must be passed by the National Assembly. The government guidelines on how to enhance the corporate value are to be finalized in early May.

0-5 YRS MOST PRONE TO ACCIDENTS
Safety accidents occurred eight times more often among infants and toddlers between the ages of 0 and 5 years than adults. Safety accidents occurred eight times more often among infants and toddlers between the ages of 0 and 5 years than adults. By age, infants and toddlers experienced the highest number of accidents at 8.4 cases while the number for children stood at 2.1 accidents and those for teenagers and adults at one accident each. Accidents for infants and toddlers occurred the most on the bed and involved falling from the bed.

RIFT AT GOYANG CITY COUNCIL

[Anchor Lead]
The Goyang City Council faced a deadlock, disrupting proceedings due to clashes between parties over "Seoul incorporation" and "livelihood budget." This also affected key agendas, risking the operation of the International Horticulture Goyang Korea starting April 26th, and jeopardizing the local currency project's restart.

[Pkg]
The International Horticulture Goyang Korea is a signature regional event. This year's festival is to kick off on April 26 at Ilsan Lake Park under the theme "Flower in the Earth." The city has previously used the KINTEX Center for a temporary parking lot to solve chronic parking issues, but this year, it seems unlikely. This is due to the city council's disruption from bipartisan conflicts, preventing approval for waiving the fees for the temporary parking lot. It also failed to secure the operational funds needed for managing domestic and foreign guests.

[Soundbite]
Kwon Ji-seon (Goyang Agricultural Technology Center): We are considering various solutions, but it's not easy. It's very worrisome and frustrating.

As the supplementary budget bill has yet to be introduced to the council, the prospect for the resumption of the so-called "Goyang Pay" project is unclear. Rival parties clashed over the scope of the budget for improving people's livelihoods even before the opening of the extraordinary session. The conflict escalated further after the People Power Party proposed a bill on Goyang's incorporation into Seoul. As a result, none of the Democratic Party members of the city council attended the session, and the March extraordinary session, which was set to discuss the supplementary budget, was never held.

[Soundbite]
Park Hyeon-woo (PPP representative at Goyang Special City Council): The DP refuses to attend the session unless the bill on Goyang's merger
with Seoul is withdrawn voluntarily.

[Soundbite]
Choi Kyu-jin (DP representative at Goyang Special City Council): The PPP has rejected our proposition to discuss urgent issues such as Goyang Pay and operation funds instead of political issues.

The Goyang city government needs about 800 million won, or just below 600,000 dollars, to secure parking space of a similar size to previous years, but will prove difficult because the supplementary budget bill hasn't been passed.