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FACTBOX: Policy pledges by South Korea's new government
SEOUL (Reuters) - Former CEO Lee Myung-bak was sworn in as South Korea's new president on Monday, promising business-like pragmatism after a decade of ideological policy he said had left the world's 13th largest economy floundering.
Following are major policy changes that Lee's government plans to implement, detailed between January and February by his transition team and compiled by Reuters:
* Economic growth to be raised to 6 percent in 2008 from estimated 4.9 percent in 2007 and 5.0 percent in 2006.
* Annual consumer inflation to be contained below 3.5 percent despite higher economic growth. This would be above the central bank's forecast of 3.3 percent and last year's inflation of 2.5 percent.
* Corporate income tax rates to be lowered gradually by 5 percentage points over five years.
* Financial supervisory agency to consider ways to bail out some 7 million delinquent small debtors.
* Universities, not the government, to set standards for selecting students.
* Government ministries and agencies to be merged or restructured to save running costs.
* Abolish limits on big-company investment in other companies.
* A 4 percent limit on non-financial companies' ownership in commercial banks to be replaced with a more flexible system, allowing for more ownership.
* The government to promote privatization of the postal service.
* A task-force to draw up measures to reform the national pension system and how its manages its funds of more than $200 billion.
* Part of the state-run Korea Development Bank to be sold to private investors. Proceeds to fund national projects.
* The state audit bureau to strengthen its supervision of budget spending by government organizations with the aim of cutting total spending by 10 percent.
* Government debt to be cut below 30 percent of gross domestic product by the end of 2012 from 33.4 percent at the end of 2007.
* Low income-earners holding not more than one house to be allowed to exchange their existing mortgage debt with lower interest-rate loans.
(Reporting by Yoo Choonsik; Editing by Neil Fullick)
