Koo Yoonchul: "US Investments Must Become an Opportunity to Lead the Global Value Chain"

Economic Ministers' Meeting and Growth Strategy Task Force Held on the 26th
Fully Autonomous Vehicles to Be Commercialized by 2027
Securing Dedicated GPUs for Autonomous Vehicles

Koo Yoonchul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, stated, "Our economy stands at a turning point that will determine its growth trajectory for the coming decades," and emphasized, "We must turn investments in the United States, resulting from tariff negotiations, into a strategic opportunity to lead and dominate the global value chain."

On the 26th, Kim Yoonduk, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, attending the Economic Relations Ministers' Meeting and Growth Strategy Task Force held via video conference between Sejong and Seoul, is listening to a speech video by Koo Yoonchul, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Strategy and Finance. 2025.11.26 Photo by Cho Yongjun

Deputy Prime Minister Koo made these remarks while presiding over the Economic Relations Ministers' Meeting and Growth Strategy Task Force held at the Government Complex Sejong on the 26th. He added, "We will focus all our capabilities and resources to ensure that the AI and Ultra-Innovation Economy Leading Projects deliver tangible results. We will implement large-scale fiscal investments and bold regulatory reforms, and we will promptly prepare a comprehensive plan for Korea to become one of the world's top four venture powerhouses, nurturing K-Big Tech companies equipped with innovative ideas and advanced technologies."

During the meeting, measures to enhance the competitiveness of the autonomous vehicle industry were discussed. Deputy Prime Minister Koo stated, "By 2027, we will commercialize fully autonomous vehicles (capable of self-driving within specific areas such as highways without driver intervention) and rise to become one of the world's top three countries in autonomous vehicles." He also announced, "Starting next year, we will establish pilot cities where autonomous driving is possible throughout the entire city and deploy more than 100 autonomous vehicles to rapidly accumulate large-scale autonomous driving data." To this end, the government will secure and prioritize support for GPUs dedicated to autonomous vehicles and establish an AI training center that can be utilized by companies, universities, and research institutes.

The meeting also addressed strategies for advancing three energy sector projects-next-generation solar power, power grids, and green hydrogen-as well as six related initiatives. Deputy Prime Minister Koo said, "We will elevate the capabilities of our renewable energy industry to the level of global leaders." He continued, "For next-generation solar power, we will commercialize high-efficiency tandem cell modules by 2028, and for offshore wind power, we aim to mass-produce ultra-large 20MW-class turbines within five years." Regarding green hydrogen, he stated, "Through large-scale 100MW production demonstrations, we will reduce production costs to less than half."

Concerning the establishment of power grid infrastructure, he explained, "We will introduce next-generation power grids equipped with AI-based power forecasting technology and localize core high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technologies by 2027 to complete the West Coast Energy Expressway." He also expressed a commitment to securing standard design approval for small modular reactors (SMRs) to gain a competitive edge in the global market and to concentrating investments in nuclear power funds.