Ministry of Economy and Finance to Accept 91 out of 100 National Property Tasks

Choi Sang-dae, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is delivering a welcoming speech at the 'National-Local Government State-Owned Property Utilization Council' held at the Government Sejong Complex on the 2nd.

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Song Seungseop] The Ministry of Economy and Finance reviewed 100 proposals regarding the purchase and utilization of state-owned properties raised by local governments and decided to accept 91 of them.

On the 2nd, Choi Sangdae, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, met with local government heads at the Government Sejong Complex to preside over the "State and Local Government State-Owned Property Utilization Council." The council was established and decided to be operated in January during the State-Owned Property Policy Deliberation Committee to provide more efficient support for state-owned properties according to local government demands.

The 100 proposals reported at the meeting were collected through the "Regional Visiting State-Owned Property Briefings" held since November last year. The proposals included requests for local governments to purchase state-owned properties to use them as public facilities needed by the local governments or to allow exchanges between state-owned properties and shared properties owned by local governments. Of these, 9 proposals were related to properties of other ministries, and the Ministry of Economy and Finance will continue to act as a mediator for those.

Vice Minister Choi Sangdae emphasized, "It is difficult to carry out all policy tasks of the current government solely through fiscal expenditures," adding, "We will support policy implementation by mobilizing all available resources beyond fiscal expenditures." He also stated, "We will actively work to reduce fiscal burdens and expand policy tools by maximizing the use of state-owned properties and public institution resources and by revitalizing private investment."

The government plans to hold this meeting regularly and operate a permanent consultative body between the state and local governments for practical discussions on state-owned properties.