Korea's finance ministry laid out plans to boost the country's services sector by investing more in research and development funding.
It also plans to relax regulations,... and sees the sector as having high potential for innovation and job creation.
Kim Ji-yeon reports.
During a meeting led by Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon on Wednesday, the government laid out plans to boost the country's research and development funding in the services sector.
It plans to increase R&D to 4-point-6-billion U.S. dollars over the next five years... with the aim of bringing the country's level of software-related tech to 90-percent that of other developed countries by 2022.
From the allotted budget, the government plans to spend nearly 715-million dollars this year,... up more than 16-percent from last year.
It aims to encourage innovative growth to boost the local healthcare and services sectors so that they create more economic value and jobs.
The government says it will relax the current regulations on companies to enable them to build affiliated research centers and be eligible for tax benefits.
It's abolishing the current regulation that requires college degrees among full-time researchers at centers aimed at boosting cultural content... and is strengthening intellectual property rights to prevent illegal distribution of copyrighted material.
The government also says it's going to increase the scope of eligibility for tax benefits to include firms engaged in providing new ways of sharing lodging or automobiles and providing healthcare... in addition to those involved in the development of the next generation of automobiles, artificial intelligence and renewable energy.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.