14th Meeting to Promote BIG3
BIG3 Budget Up 43 Percent in 2022 to 6.3 Trillion Won
Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki presided over the 14th Meeting to Promote BIG3[1], a subsidiary committee of the Industrial Innovation Meeting, held on August 30. Measures to promote future cars, such as ensuring repair and inspection services, are main topics of discussion, as well as plans to help develop next generation sensor technologies and encourage bio-tech enterprises to develop into one of the 50 most competitive global enterprises in the sector. The 2022 BIG3 budget proposal was another topic of discussion.
The following is a summary of Deputy Prime Minister Hong’s keynote address.
BIG3 budget proposal for 2022
BIG3 delivering brilliant performance despite the pandemic, the government has drawn up a big budget next year for those industries, assigning 43 percent more money than in the preceding year, making it a total of 6.3 trillion won. In addition to the tax incentives laid down in the 2021 tax revision, such as larger tax reductions for R&D and facilities investment in the BIG3 area than cuts given to other new growth engines or essential technologies, the government will continue to work out new measures which will cover the wide areas of fiscal, tax, financial and regulatory support.
Backed by strong support given over the last three years, worth 10 trillion won in total, Korea’s semiconductor revenues have returned to world’s first place in three years, more and more battery enterprises are operating in the black, and bio-health has registered some of its products on the list of the country’s 10 major exports.
Make sure repair and inspection services are nearby for future cars
The government will work to offer an adequate level of repair and inspection services for future vehicles, providing a total of 3,300 EV repair shops and over 26 inspection stations for hydrogen fuel cell cars. To ensure qualified workforce, we will support the restructuring of vocational college courses to make available 46,000 auto mechanics by 2024. On top of this, the government will work to extend battery warranties to three years or 60,000 km, as well as increase investment in battery management systems and inspection equipment development.
Help develop next generation sensor technologies
Despite high tech sensors having enormous market potential, Korean products take a paltry share of 2 percent in the global market. The government has set a goal of joining the group of largest five sensor suppliers by 2030 and will invest a total of 200 billion won for 2022-2028. We will also provide tech support through public R&D institutions, such as National Nanofab, and launch a K-sensor taskforce to offer overseas marketing services.
Encourage bio-tech companies to join the world’s best group
Korea’s pharmaceuticals, medical devices and cosmetics expanded their shares in GDP to around 2.5 percent last year, their portion in manufacturing rising to around 10 percent. It is time to help Korea’s bio-tech companies develop into world-class ones, and the government will select eight companies to focus its support on. The government will promote cooperation between innovative companies and public research centers, and will work to raise 100 billion won worth of support funds and to make new biotech medicine covered by National Health Insurance.
