Prime Minister Jeong: "Full Effort to Keep the Spark of Export Vitality Alive"

Prime Minister Jeong Visits Incheon New Port, Gateway to the Seoul Metropolitan Area...Inspecting Export-Import Sites Amid K-Quarantine

Prime Minister Jeong Sye-kyun

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on the 5th, "The public and private sectors must make every effort to ensure that the spark of export vitality, which has been difficult to recover, does not go out."

On Trade Day, Prime Minister Chung visited Incheon New Port, held a meeting with export industry officials, and after listening to difficulties such as rising maritime freight rates and shortage of export vessels, he made these remarks.

Prime Minister Chung said, "It is a positive sign that the export recovery trend continues in November and major items such as semiconductors and automobiles are on the rise," adding, "The export base is also expanding with diagnostic kits, secondary batteries, cosmetics, and more."

He continued, "Next year, global trade is expected to be revitalized and the economy to recover, so we must prepare in advance for possible logistics difficulties during that process."

Prime Minister Chung promised, "In this regard, the government will push for urgent logistics resolution in the short term through additional vessel deployment, allocation of dedicated volumes for small and medium enterprises, and freight subsidies for small shippers and shipping companies. In the long term, we will also seek fundamental solutions such as inducing long-term contracts between national shipping companies and export companies, and further expanding national shipping company vessel capacity."

He added, "We will faithfully implement the 'Five-Year Plan for Shipping Reconstruction,' including the deployment of eight ultra-large container ships (16,000 TEU) by HMM, and supply infrastructure such as new port construction and hinterland complexes in a timely manner so that ports serve as export-import logistics hubs and drivers of regional economic vitality."

Prime Minister Chung also encouraged port workers and said, "Exports have been the foundation of economic recovery whenever the economy faced difficulties," urging, "Let us join forces for a greater economic leap."