On January 15 (Wednesday), Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister, Choi Sang-mok, who also serves as Minister of Economy and Finance, convened the Ministerial Meeting on National Affairs, Ministerial Meeting on Economic Affairs and Ministerial Meeting on Strengthening Industrial Competitiveness at the Government Complex-Seoul to discuss the following agenda items:

- Current Employment Situation and Response Strategies for December 2024

- Lunar New Year Holiday Safety Management Plan

- Impact of the U.S. New Administration on the Automotive Industry and Response Measures

- Measures to Enhance the Competitiveness of Eco-friendly Cars and Secondary Batteries

- Plans for Creating an Innovation Ecosystem for Pharmaceutical and Biotech Ventures

- Future Operating Plans for the Ministerial Meeting on Strengthening Industrial Competitiveness

* Participants: Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister (Chair) alongside Ministers and Vice Ministers from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Office for Government Policy Coordination Prime Minister’s Secretariat, Fair Trade Commission, Statistics Korea, and President of the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association (KAMA).

Acting President Choi stated that ‘Meetings for Major Policy Tasks’, consisting of five rounds, will conclude tomorrow (Jan 16) with the meeting for the foreign affairs and national security sector being the last; the government’s work plan for this year has been created with a strong commitment to providing practical solutions to the current issues; in particular, each item included in the work plan is ‘a promise the government makes to the people’, and therefore, all ministries will push forward their policy tasks with speed according to the planned schedule to ensure that the results expected by the public are realized in a timely manner.

[Lunar New Year Holiday Safety Management Plan]

The session discussed measures to ensure safety during the Lunar New Year holiday period, through the government’s concentrated efforts on implementing the ‘Lunar New Year Holiday Safety Management Plan”.

First, preparations will be made for all types of potential disasters and accidents. Thorough response measures will be devised, led by the relevant government agencies, covering areas from heavy snow and cold waves to traffic and maritime accidents, fires, and livestock epidemics. In particular, safety inspections at multi-use facilities will be shored up, such as traditional markets and medical institutions.

Second, a disaster response system that operates immediately during the holiday period will be established. A 24-hour disaster management and emergency medical treatment system will be launched, along with real-time information sharing for prompt response in the event of an accident.

Third, disaster-vulnerable groups will be provided with robust protection. Safety checks for the elderly and persons with disabilities will be enhanced during the holiday period, and cold wave response guidelines will be actively communicated to the vulnerable.

[Impact of the U.S. New Administration on the Automotive Industry and Response Measures] [Measures to Enhance the Competitiveness of Eco-friendly Cars and Secondary Batteries]

Amid a growing sense of crisis due to slowing market demand, the electric vehicle industry is expected to face a significant impact by the new U.S. administration’s launch.

Under these circumstances, policy efforts will be made to actively respond to the industry’s slowing growth by expanding purchase incentives for young people’s first cars and for multi-child households, while increasing policy financing to promote investment in secondary batteries by 2 trillion won compared to the previous year. (5.9 trillion won in 2024 → 7.9 trillion won in 2025)

[Measures to Enhance the Competitiveness of Eco-friendly Cars and Secondary Batteries]

The government will create an ecosystem where venture companies, the key players in pharmaceutical and biotech technological innovation, can grow strongly.

Starting in February, a new program will kick off, under which specialized incubators select promising biotech startups and provide close support from the stages of startup to revenue

generation. Not only that, a new biotech fund worth 400 billion won will be launched this year to support exploring candidate substances and developing new drugs.

Please refer to the attached files.