Andukgeun, Minister of Industry Nominee, "Will Inject Vitality into Corporate Management"

Candidate Nomination Remarks

Candidate for Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, Andeok Geun, stated on the 17th, "If I am confirmed through the confirmation hearing and inaugurated as minister, I will revitalize our economy and corporate management."

On the same day, Candidate An said in his statement of appointment, "Based on my global trade experience, I will organically link industrial and energy policies and listen to the voices of companies competing in the global market and the field of policy."

As the first trade chief of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, Director An has handled major industrial and trade issues such as responding to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This appointment is interpreted as an effort to maintain continuity in economic security tasks while promoting internal stability within the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Candidate An identified export and supply chain policies as future tasks. He emphasized, "By consolidating domestic and international capabilities, we will firmly establish the growth trend of exports, secure the stability of supply chains based on a broad trade network, and implement trade policies to strengthen corporate profits and economic security. We will create a world-class domestic investment environment to make South Korea a global investment, technology, and talent hub for advanced strategic industries, and support companies in building a super-gap capability early."

With President Yoon Seok-yeol nominating Director An of the Trade Negotiation Headquarters as the candidate for Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, the ministry will welcome a new head in just three months. Given this unusual early replacement, the focus must be on 'organizational stability.'

Early normalization of the nuclear power ecosystem is also an urgent task. Although the construction of Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4, which was scrapped by the Moon Jae-in administration, has resumed and the nuclear phase-out policy is being abandoned, many tasks remain, including the continued operation of 10 nuclear reactors whose operating licenses expire by 2029, new nuclear power plant construction, export of 10 nuclear reactors, and legislation for the introduction of high-level radioactive waste disposal facilities.

Overcoming the financial crisis of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), whose total debt has exceeded 200 trillion won, is also a challenge. Adjusting public energy prices such as electricity and gas, and expanding the power grid, which is organically linked to the development of advanced industries such as semiconductors, are also issues to be resolved.