Vice Minister Ki: "Recommend Rerouting Traffic Due to Consecutive Attacks on Ships in the Red Sea... Promoting Logistics Cost Support"

Amid the Houthi rebels, a Shia armed group in Yemen, repeatedly attacking civilian vessels in the Red Sea, the shortest route connecting Asia and Europe, the government has advised rerouting our ships to avoid the Red Sea. Additionally, plans are in place to prepare countermeasures such as providing logistics cost support if necessary to prevent disruptions in exports.

On the 21st, Kim Byung-hwan, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, chaired a joint 'Maritime Logistics Vice Ministers' Meeting' with related ministries at the government Seoul office to review the response system to recent security threats near the Red Sea.

As a result of the meeting, the government assessed that the direct impact of the recent Houthi attacks on civilian vessels on South Korea's import-export logistics and energy supply is limited.

Kim Byunghwan, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is presiding over the 'Coastal Logistics Vice Ministers' Meeting' held on the morning of the 21st at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Exports from Korea to Europe are proceeding normally, and some domestic shipping companies have switched or are considering switching to alternative routes bypassing the Red Sea straits. Even after the start of the Yemeni rebel attacks, there have been no disruptions in the supply of major raw materials such as crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), and since the import share from Europe is small, the impact of using alternative routes is also expected to be limited, according to the government’s assessment.

The government decided to maintain a real-time response system through joint efforts by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other related agencies to ensure the safety of domestic vessels. It also plans to strengthen information sharing, including real-time monitoring of local developments and guidelines for actions in case of emergencies.

Previously, the Houthi rebels declared on the 14th of last month that they would attack vessels related to Israel, which is at war with Hamas, and since then, they have attacked or threatened at least 10 vessels passing through the Red Sea.

Kim Byung-hwan, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, stated, "We will promote support for logistics costs using export vouchers if necessary to ensure that the geopolitical risks occurring on the Red Sea route do not negatively affect the recent export growth."