Party and Government "January 27 Designated as Temporary Holiday... Full Response to Trump's Trade Policy"

Emergency Economic Stabilization High-Level Party-Government Meeting Held
Kim Sang-hoon "Temporary Holidays Expected to Boost Domestic Consumption and Tourism"
Weekly Foreign Economic Briefings Compared to Trump Era
Operation of 10 Trillion Won Fund to Stabilize Supply Chains

The government and the People Power Party agreed on the 8th to designate the 27th, the day before the Lunar New Year holiday, as a temporary public holiday. The ruling party and the government also shared their intention to fully respond to the protectionist trade policies of the second Trump administration, which will launch on the 20th (local time).

Kim Sang-hoon, the policy chief of the People Power Party, said at a briefing after the 'High-level Party-Government Meeting for Emergency Economic Stabilization' held at the National Assembly on the same day, "We expect significant positive effects such as revitalizing the domestic economy and boosting tourism."

Accordingly, if the 27th is designated as a temporary public holiday, people will be able to take a continuous six-day break from the weekend of the 25th-26th through the Lunar New Year holiday from the 28th to the 30th. Policy Chief Kim added, "We believe this will expand opportunities for rest for the public and also contribute to improving quality of life," and further explained, "We expect various effects such as the dispersion of traffic volume due to the extended holiday period."

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In addition to designating the temporary public holiday, the ruling party and government discussed trade issues and response directions following the launch of the second Trump administration, as well as financial market trends. Minister Ahn Deok-geun of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is visiting Washington, D.C., to meet with key U.S. government and congressional officials.

Moreover, the government plans to hold weekly external economic meetings to respond to issues as they arise, establish communication channels at various levels with the U.S., and expand and reorganize the Trade Commission beyond its current structure. They also intend to appoint ambassadors for international financial cooperation and international investment cooperation to enhance external credibility.

Choi Sang-mok, Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, said in his opening remarks, "We will establish response strategies for major issues such as tariff increases and the repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), diversify export investment supply chains, discover cooperative agendas between Korea and the U.S. such as the shipbuilding cooperation package, and focus on communication efforts with the new U.S. administration by consolidating public-private external cooperation capabilities."

Regarding supply chain stability, they plan to operate a supply chain fund worth 10 trillion won to proactively respond to vulnerable items in the supply chain related to China, accelerate trade cooperation with promising emerging countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Guatemala, and establish core mineral cooperation partnerships with Tanzania and Chile.

Concerning the stability of financial and securities markets, they intend to maintain market stability during January and February, when major events such as the fourth-quarter earnings announcements of key companies and the launch of the Trump administration are concentrated, and manage the situation to prevent increased market anxiety. In particular, they plan to operate meetings such as the Macroeconomic and Financial Issues Meeting (F4) and focus on stabilizing the bond and short-term money markets.

Acting Prime Minister Choi said, "At times like this, it is important for the ruling and opposition parties and the government to come together, operate a national consultation body, and unite efforts to manage people’s livelihoods, economic stability, and external credibility," adding, "The government will actively support this." Kwon Young-se, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, also emphasized, "It is most important to prevent political turmoil from spreading to the economy and administration. The ruling party will act as a firewall."

Choi Sang-mok, Acting President, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy, and Minister of Strategy and Finance, is speaking at the high-level ruling party-government meeting for emergency economic stabilization held at the National Assembly on the 8th. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group