At the Start of the New Year, Choo Kyung-ho Visits the Semiconductor Export Site

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] On the midnight of the 1st, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho visited the Korean Air Cargo Terminal 1 at Incheon Airport to inspect the loading site of semiconductor-related export cargo on the first national cargo flight departing for Xi'an, China in the new year.

After receiving a briefing on the status of international cargo handling at the Incheon cargo terminal, Deputy Prime Minister Choo extended New Year's greetings and words of encouragement to the workers and company officials working at the export site.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance explained that this field visit was arranged to examine the export site, which is the backbone and pillar of the Korean economy, and to seek ways to expand exports amid expectations that the difficulties of the Korean economy will continue for a considerable period due to the full-scale onset of overseas complex crises this year.

At the site, Deputy Prime Minister Choo stated, "Although exports recorded an all-time high annual export amount due to a strong increase in exports in the first half of last year, exports turned to a decline after October and are expected to decrease by 4.5% this year due to the contraction of global trade and the semiconductor industry, indicating a difficult situation."

The government plans to mobilize all ministries' capabilities to fully support exports this year so that exports can underpin economic growth.

Deputy Prime Minister Choo said, "Through the Export Strategy Meeting, we will prepare measures to enhance export competitiveness centered on five major sectors (key industries, overseas construction, small and venture businesses, tourism and content, digital, bio, and space), and reorganize the government-wide export support system by fully activating the one-stop export and order support team."

He added, "We also plan to continuously strengthen support for export companies, including supplying trade finance at an all-time high level (351 trillion → 360 trillion won), expanding export and logistics voucher support for small and medium enterprises (107.5 billion → 119.7 billion won), and improving the Export-Import Bank's external debt guarantees in the first quarter."