Food truck deregulation is for working people, says Pres. Park

President Park Geun-hye said Monday the decision to ease regulation on food trucks is not intended to allow large companies expand sales opportunities. At a meeting with senior secretaries, she said, "The deregulation for food trucks that will be legal starting in July is to help livelihood of low-income people and create more jobs," adding that it is not desirable for large companies to advance into this sector.

Deregulation of food truck business was made after a food truck service provider suggested this at a ministerial meeting for regulation reform presided by President Park on March 20. Disputes heated up when large companies and department stores entered the business. Critics are paying attention to the reason President Park, who has committed to invigorating the economy as she enters her second year in office, has chosen to make an issue of large companies` entry into commercial districts for neighborhood retailing. Some say she is strengthening moves to help low-income people after the tragic sinking of the ferry Sewol.

She is also stepping up harsh criticism against the family of Yoo Byeong-eon, former chairman of Semo Group and who is an alleged main culprit of Sewol sinking. President Park said, "Their flight fundamentally damages Korea`s legal order," adding, "They must be promptly arrested for the sake of recovering legal order among other reasons." She said, "Various suspicions and illegal actions of the Yoo family in asset creation was not possible without the help of protection forces. These should be revealed at all cost to make our country a place where people mock the nation and its people and put the society in chaos can never reside."

The maverick faction of Guwonpa (heathen Salvation sect), which is alleged to be helping the flight of Yoo, released a statement mocking presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon, thus challenging public authority. President Park thus decided to directly intervene to press the heathen sect.

President Park met new National Assembly Speaker Chung Eui-hwa at the Presidential Office Monday. She urged him the fast passage of national reform bills including Kim Young-ran bill (bill to raise the bar of ethical practices of public officials), bill to recover hidden crime profits, government organization bill and public servants ethics bill.