Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho stated on the 21st, "Economically viable waste resources such as steel scrap and used batteries will be collectively designated as circular resources exempt from waste regulations without individual company applications."
At the emergency economic ministers' meeting held at the Government Seoul Office that morning, Deputy Prime Minister Choo said, "We will promote technological cooperation between large corporations with demand for waste resource utilization and small and medium supply companies, support joint investments in processing facilities, and establish a stable supply chain for waste resource processing raw materials."
To this end, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will promote nine leading circular economy projects across nine industries including steel, petrochemicals, and batteries. The circular economy refers to an economic system that continuously circulates resources, compared to the traditional linear economy where products are discarded after use. The related market is expected to grow to $4.5 trillion by 2030.
Regarding this project, Deputy Prime Minister Choo emphasized, "We will amend the Petroleum Business Act to allow waste plastics to be used as raw materials in refining processes, support research and development (R&D) to enable the recovery and utilization of lithium, nickel, and other materials from used batteries," adding, "We will firmly establish the foundation for revitalizing the circular economy by creating circular economy clusters and preparing systems to nurture star companies."
He also mentioned plans to activate private investment in the agriculture and food sector. Deputy Prime Minister Choo stated, "To industrialize future growth in the agriculture and food sector, we will support the supply of a total of 5.6 trillion won in funds led by the private sector by 2027." The government recognizes that although the agriculture and food sector has recently been high value-added through smart agriculture and food tech using information and communication technology and artificial intelligence, private investment is insufficient compared to other industries.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho is greeting officials before delivering opening remarks at the 'Emergency Economic Ministers' Meeting and Export Investment Measures Meeting' held on the 21st at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Deputy Prime Minister Choo explained, "We plan to create dedicated funds for the agriculture and food sector, including 300 billion won in pure private funds and 1 trillion won in private-government matching funds, to actively invest in young farmers and startups, while supporting private financial institutions such as NongHyup to concentrate 4.3 trillion won in loans to promising agricultural management entities by 2027."
Deep science startups in basic science fields such as quantum and nuclear fusion will also be promoted. He said, "Considering the characteristics of high-level science and technology fields, we will establish and operate a cooperative startup R&D support program that allows researchers to focus on technology development while entrusting business management to professional managers," adding, "We will support challenging startups and rapid scale-ups by utilizing research and development special zone funds and public technology commercialization funds."
Furthermore, the government plans to improve the performance distribution system by allowing researchers who contribute to startups through technology transfer to receive technology fees in forms other than cash, such as stocks, and by specifying related regulations so that private technology transaction institutions supporting technology transfer or startups can also receive fair compensation.
Deputy Prime Minister Choo stated, "Recently, our economy has shown relatively stable trends in prices and employment, domestic demand is gradually recovering, and there are some positive signs in exports and the current account balance," but added, "Since uncertainties surrounding our economy still exist, the government will not let down its guard and will concentrate policy capabilities to ensure that some recent positive trends lead to a rapid and strong economic rebound."
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