The Emergency Ministerial Meeting on Economic Affairs and Meeting on Export and Investment Promotion

Korea’s exports have recently continued to decline due to the delayed recovery of the global economy and the sluggish IT industry.

For the prompt recovery of exports despite difficult external conditions, pan-government support will be provided for:

1. strengthening export competitiveness of major industries such as semiconductors, displays, and electric vehicles;

2. expanding new export growth engines such as agriculture, fishery and food, cultural content, and biotechnology;

3. diversifying export markets ranging from the Middle East to ASEAN countries; and

4. reinforcing export infrastructure such as trade finance, logistics, and overseas marketing.

1. Innovation strategies for the display industry to reclaim the No.1 world ranking

Korea’s display industry, as a key industry of its economy, maintained the top global market share from 2004 to 2020, but competition has been intensifying especially in the OLED market due to the rapid chasing of latecomers like China.

In order to secure unrivaled competitiveness in the display industry, the government designated this sector as a national strategic technology under the Restriction of Special Taxation Act earlier this year and provided the world’s highest level of tax credits for R&D and investment.

Furthermore, the government selected core display technologies as national cutting-edge strategic technologies with a view to promoting private investment and supporting the establishment of stable supply chains along with policy financing, R&D and manpower training.

2. Stocktaking of SMEs’ export status and countermeasures

Recently, Korea’s exports from Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) have been on the decline due to sluggish exports to China.

Considering the current difficulties SMEs are facing, the Korean government is planning to prepare and provide additional tailored measures focusing on financial and infrastructure support.

1) First of all, SMEs with excellent export performance will be temporarily eligible for applying to receive funds from the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency with no limit on the number of applications until next year.

2) Second, in September, the global business center will be opened in Saudi Arabia to support Korean companies' entry into the Middle East, and an exclusive smart logistics center for SMEs will be built at the Incheon International Airport in an expeditious manner.

3) Last but not least, the government will closely support to address difficulties that exporting SMEs encounter.

3. K-Blue Food export strategies to lead the global market

As Korean seafood such as seaweed and abalone have recently been gaining popularity in the global market, its exports achieved a record $3.15 billion last year.

Against this backdrop, the government will bolster policy support to further expand exports of marine food resources, or blue food.

1) Key items such as seaweed and tuna, as well as popular items such as oysters and abalone, will be fostered to large-scale export industries through the innovation of breeding and processing technologies and establishment of a stable work infrastructure.

2) Also, the government will enhance marketing support by utilizing the Korean Wave effect like K-POP and K-Fairs.

4. Plans to improve the levy system for enterprises

Currently, a total of 90 customary levies are imposed and the ones that have lasted more than 20 years account for 74%.

In this regard, the government will revamp the current levy system in a reasonable manner reflecting the recent changes in the economic and social structure to further boost the economy.

1) Above all, in order to minimize the burden on Korean citizens and companies, 23 categories of levies with weak validity will be modified into a reasonable level.

2) In addition, the establishment of new levies will be strictly examined by launching an impact assessment system. The government will push for revision of related regulations to further strengthen the levy assessment.