김동연 "분배악화 대책 7월중 발표…저소득층 소득지원"

Officials tasked with handling matters related to the nation's economy held a meeting today.
While they covered a range of issues, the focal point was tackling issues linked to the widening wealth gap.
Kim Hyesung has the highlights from that session.
Korea's economic policymakers gathered Thursday to discuss two key issues, tackling income inequality and supporting innovative growth.

"Innovative growth is not limited to certain specific areas or companies, but it covers all economic and social areas, and helps create jobs. We will look into ways to create a synergy to also solve the income distribution problem."

The wealth gap has widened to record levels in Korea.
According to Statistics Korea, the monthly average income for those in the bottom 20 percent income bracket dropped eight percent in the first quarter this year while income for households in the upper 20 percent soared nine-point-three percent on year, widening the income gap to nearly six times.
Minister Kim vowed to pinpoint the cause of such discrepancy and come up with detailed measures to support low income households by July.
At the meeting, ministers also delved into innovative growth plans in construction businesses and fishing villages.
The transport ministry said it is working on removing regulations in the construction industry and strengthen companies' self-building obligations to boost competitiveness, and promised to come up with detailed plans by the third quarter of this year.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said it is pushing for the implementation of the so-called "Fishing Villages New Deal 300" to modernize outdated fishing villages, saying 3-hundred out of 23-hundred fishing ports need to be revamped in order to boost safety and help support tourism in the future.
Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.