Andeokgeun's First Economic Group Lecture as Inaugural Speech: "Exports Will Continue Upward Trend in Q2"

Trade Association Invitation Lecture

Anduk Geun, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy. (Photo by archive)

On the 29th, Andeok-geun, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, forecasted in his first economic organization lecture since taking office that "this year, thanks to the recovery of the semiconductor and information and communication technology (IT) industry and the strong export trend of key items such as ships, the upward export trend will continue in the second quarter following the export plus in the first quarter."

On the same day, Minister Ahn attended a lecture hosted by the Korea International Trade Association and said, "Among the three engines of our economy?exports, investment, and consumption?the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will take full responsibility to fully operate the export and investment engines to lead economic growth this year and will make an all-out effort."

Regarding last year's exports, Minister Ahn stated, "It was a year in which global trade volume unusually decreased, except during the financial crisis (2009) and the COVID-19 period (2019?2020), due to a complex economic crisis including prolonged global high interest rates, US-China conflicts, and geopolitical crises such as the Ukraine war." He evaluated, "Despite these difficult external conditions, our exports turned positive in October, escaping the crisis earlier compared to major Asian export countries such as China, Japan, and Taiwan, and demonstrated a higher economic growth rate than major global trade-dependent countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, and Singapore, leading economic growth with exports showing a low-high pattern."

He emphasized that alongside the clear rebound in exports, expanding investment centered on the top 10 manufacturing industries is necessary to inject new vitality into economic growth. Minister Ahn said, "We have set challenging goals of a record-high $700 billion in exports, 110 trillion won in facility investment in the top 10 manufacturing industries, and attracting $35 billion in foreign investment." He added, "To achieve these goals, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will launch an all-out export and investment campaign, including selecting 20 major export items to establish new export engines, pioneering new markets such as building the Global South Belt, providing the largest-ever support for export companies with 360 trillion won in trade finance and 1 trillion won in export marketing, improving the investment environment for new industries through activation of regulatory sandboxes, and innovating outdated regulations such as mandatory closure days for large marts and aligning Galapagos regulations with global standards."

Meanwhile, Yoon Jin-sik, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, said in his opening remarks, "Despite the delayed global economic recovery last year, we achieved the third-highest annual export amount in history by recording an average monthly export of $52.7 billion." He added, "Since the government has set a record-high export target of $700 billion this year, the trade industry will work together with the government with one heart and one mind."