South Korea to help new firms to aid growth

South Korea plans to help new companies through tax benefits and deregulation in a move to spur economic growth, the Yonhap News reported on Sunday.
Finance and Economy Minister Lee Hun-jai, who took office on February 10, held a breakfast meeting with Kang Shin-ho, the head of the Federation of Korean Industries, a powerful business lobby group, and agreed to support the business circle, it said.
The move came as South Korea aims to create 500,000 new jobs over five years in a bid to keep the country's annual unemployment steady at about three percent.
The government is seeking to provide tax favours to companies during the first five operating years and avoid government influence on business, the report said, citing finance ministry officials attending the meeting.
South Korea expects the export-driven economy to expand by more than five percent this year, above an estimated 2.9 percent rise in 2003.