Yoon: "Advancing to a Top 5 Export Nation... Nuclear Power, Defense Industry, and K-Content as New Pillars" (Update)

Attended the '59th Trade Day Ceremony' and Promised "Swift Resolution of Companies' Export and Order Difficulties"

President Yoon Suk-yeol attended the 59th Trade Day ceremony held on the 5th at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul, and pledged support for advancing into the world's top five exporters.

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on the 5th, "We will unite all export support capabilities to leap into the top 5 export powers by 2026." President Yoon believes that the global economic crisis must be overcome through exports. To this end, he promised to significantly increase support for export activities and resolve related regulations.

On the same day, President Yoon attended the '59th Trade Day Ceremony' held at COEX, Seoul Trade Center, and said, "Exports have always been a strong pillar of our economy, and exports are the foundation of our economy and the source of jobs."

President Yoon evaluated, "Although there are concerns about a global economic recession due to high inflation, high exchange rates, and high interest rates, this year we have achieved significant export results," adding, "Our global export ranking rose from 7th last year to 6th, and we are on track to achieve a record-high export performance exceeding 680 billion dollars this year." He introduced the 3 trillion won Egypt El-Dabaa nuclear power plant project won under the new government and the 12.4 billion dollar defense export contract with Poland.

He also presented support measures to become one of the top 5 export powers by 2026. President Yoon emphasized, "Along with the Export Strategy Meeting, we will promptly resolve difficulties related to our companies' exports and orders through a one-stop export and order support team," and "We will greatly expand support for export activities such as trade finance, marketing, and logistics to help our companies actively enter the global market."

President Yoon's recent consecutive messages to strengthen exports reflect concerns that the global economy is entering a recession phase, that Korea's export market will enter a full-scale downturn next year, and that consumer sentiment will deteriorate. It can also be interpreted as prioritizing overcoming the recession through exports over price stability as the top economic policy goal for 2023.

President Yoon's promise on the same day, "We will actively foster nuclear power, defense, infrastructure construction, and K-content as our new leading export industries," and "From now on, summit diplomacy will be thoroughly focused on promoting our companies' exports and overseas expansion," is in the same context. He continued, "We will expand our FTA network by pursuing new FTAs with emerging market regions with high growth potential such as the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa," and added, "I will also run alongside you on the front lines of exports."