The Australian Embassy in Seoul on Friday hosted a forum on regulatory reform and deregulation with the South Korean government in a bid to explore ways for cooperation in these areas, officials said.
The one-day forum titled the “Best Practice Regulation Workshop” came as Seoul and Canberra seek to boost cooperation in the field of regulatory reforms with a free trade agreement between South Korea and Australia (KAFTA) going into effect late last year.
“Services and investment are important parts of KAFTA, but they cannot reach their full potential unless the regulatory environment improves,” Bill Paterson PSM, the Australian ambassador to Seoul, said at the opening of the forum.
“Predictability, transparency, consultation, consistent application, and cutting red-tape are essential and both our governments are committed to achieving a more business friendly regulatory environment,” he added.
Kang Young-chul, deputy minister for regulatory reform, also said that “drastic reform is necessary for the success of regulatory reforms,” adding that South Korea and Australia will continue to carry out cooperation in this sector.
South Korea said that it will scrap more than 100 administrative rules cited by local companies for hindering businesses as it seeks to prod more companies into increasing investment to jump-start the local economy.
Australia is in the process of reducing tape worth $1 billion every year in its drive for deregulation, the embassy said. (Yonhap)
