South Korean government announced Monday its extensive plan for making Jeju (Cheju) Island a free access and development city similar to Hong Kong and Singapore.
According to the plan, Jeju will be a visa-free international city for global tourism, finance, and logistics, and specifically will offer tax benefits for domestic and foreign investors. It will also allow foreigners to establish foreign schools in Jeju and allow natives to admission to the schools. In addition, the city will have duty free shops that residents can use.
In a Jeju Free International City Committee meeting Monday, the government mapped out its basic plan and decided to propose the special bill in the regular session of the National Assembly in a bid to work on the development plan from 2002 to 2010.
The plan includes the expansion of range of visa-free travel to 17 nations including Vietnam, Mongolia, and the Philippines. At the same time, the government will partially allow people from these nations to enter the Korean peninsular.
Various taxes will be reduced including corporate income tax by 100% for the first three years and by 50% for the following two years for those who invest more than US$10 million on tourist industry like commodities. With regard to imported-materials for infrastructure, the government will offer tariffs at 100% off the price. For domestic businesspeople, it will create a free trade zone, where Korean firms are able to move in, and offer various tax benefits.
For the convenience of foreign investors, the government will make administrative institutions that provide and receive official documents in English. For foreign universities, it will allow them to establish branch schools in the form of a graduate school or a college, permitting full rights to recruit students and teach them their own curriculum.
At the same time, it has decided to abolish heavy taxation and lower the price of entry to golf clubs on Jeju to W60,000 to attract domestic travelers. In a duty free shop, residents can shop four times a year and buy goods up to US$300 per visit.
The government is planning to inject W4.7 trillion in total, including private sector contributions of W1.3 trillion, to establish the "Jeju Free International City" in the form of a special corporation next year. It will enlarge SOC (social overhead capital) funds to W2.9 trillion up to 2010, and invest W1.7 trillion on seven initiative projects.
However, some civic groups and Grand National Party members voiced concerns against the plan. The opposition party is expecting a public hearing this coming Friday to take a reserved stance, which might be a bottleneck in the process of enacting the special law.
(People's Daily November 20, 2001)
