On May 21, First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Kim Bumseok, who is currently serving as Acting Minister, stated, "To support companies in responding to trade risks, we have secured 28.6 trillion won in policy finance resources based on a supplementary budget of 1.5 trillion won." He added, "We will make every effort to ensure that domestic companies are not shaken by changes in the global trade environment."
At a meeting of the Ministers of Economic Affairs and the Ministers of Industrial Competitiveness held at the Government Complex Seoul on the same day, Acting Minister Kim made these remarks. He explained, "Of the 28.6 trillion won in policy finance, 16.3 trillion won will be used to support the management stability of affected companies, 7.4 trillion won will be allocated for market diversification, and 4.9 trillion won will be invested in strengthening industrial competitiveness, including advanced facility investment." He went on to say, "We will focus on alleviating tariff burdens and creating new demand." He also added, "We will closely monitor the execution status to ensure that policy funds are delivered quickly to companies on the ground, and, if necessary, will actively support immunity measures for financial institutions."
At the meeting, concrete action plans for strengthening industrial competitiveness and fostering the service industry were also discussed. The government has been accelerating the construction of advanced industry infrastructure, such as the National AI Computing Center and the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, and has established the foundation for investment in related sectors through the creation of a 50 trillion won ‘Advanced Strategic Industry Fund’. Acting Minister Kim emphasized, "We will promptly pursue follow-up measures, including supporting the swift passage of the amendment to the Korea Development Bank Act," and added, "We will also sequentially prepare advancement plans for sectors such as steel."
Plans to enhance the competitiveness of the service industry will also be accelerated. Acting Minister Kim stated, "We will continue to cooperate with the National Assembly to ensure the passage of the Framework Act on Service Industry Development and the Marriage Service Act. At the same time, we will disclose regional and itemized price information for marriage services starting at the end of May, and secure more than 200 public wedding halls by 2027." He added, "We will establish development strategies so that content and defense MRO can grow into leading export industries, and will focus on nurturing promising sectors such as tech services and data."
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