On March 19th (Wednesday), Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok convened the Ministerial Meeting on National Affairs, Ministerial Meeting on Economic Affairs and Ministerial Meeting on Strengthening Industrial Competitiveness at the Government Complex-Seoul.
Since last week (March 12th), the impact of the new U.S. administration’s tariff policy has begun to materialize, with tariffs being imposed on steel and aluminum. However, due to significant uncertainty surrounding the specifics and the responses of major countries, it is difficult to predict the impact on Korean businesses. Under these circumstances, the government plans to continue close communication with the industry and take necessary support measures in relevant sectors as needed.
At today’s meeting, the participants discussed the following topics:
- Support Measures for Trade Risks and Unfair Imports in the Steel and Aluminum Industries
- Economic Regulation Improvement Tasks
- Regulatory Innovation Measures for the Bonded Processing System
- 2025 Implementation Plan for the 15 Key Projects of New Growth 4.0
- Comprehensive Drought Countermeasures for 2025
The following are key messages of DPM Choi’s remarks.
[Support Measures for Trade Risks and Unfair Imports in the Steel and Aluminum Industries]
First, the government will continue high-level and working-level consultations with major countries, including the United States, to minimize trade risks, along with efforts to actively address business difficulties arising from the imposition of tariffs:
- A trade insurance program for tariff-affected and export companies will be provided first to the steel industry, and a separate consulting program dedicated to helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with tariff-related difficulties will also be introduced.
Actions to address unfair trade practices, such as dumping, will also be enhanced:
- Anti-circumvention duties will be imposed on dumping through third countries as well.
- The submission of a Mill Test Certificate (MTC) will be made mandatory at the time of import declaration to verify the origin information of imported steel products.
[Regulatory Innovation Measures for the Bonded Processing System]
[Economic Regulation Improvement Tasks]
With an aim to support the export of key industries where rapid technological development and manufacturing/processing are crucial, the government will innovate the ‘bonded processing system’:
- The government will streamline the procedures for the import and export of research and test materials at bonded factories to shorten the prototype verification period in high-tech sectors such as semiconductors.
- The patent requirements for single bonded factories will be eased, allowing logistics movement between factories without customs declaration (expanding the factory distance limit from 15 km to 30 km), thereby reducing the manufacturing time for key export products such as ships.
The government will resolve the management difficulties of SMEs and actively improve the regulations that hinder the fostering of new industries:
- The current ambiguous regulations on entry restrictions to free trade zones will be strengthened and various R&D methods will be incorporated in the certification criteria for ‘innovative pharmaceutical companies’.
[2025 Implementation Plan for the 15 Key Projects of New Growth 4.0]
The government will strive to materialize future growth engines by fostering new industries:
- Policy finance amounting to 75.4 trillion KRW will be provided to support new industries.
- Relevant regulations will be promptly established and revised in line with market formation speed and expand the pool of key professionals.
[Comprehensive Drought Countermeasures for 2025]
A joint task force (TF) meeting on drought countermeasures will be held weekly with relevant ministries to closely monitor early signs of a crisis, with local governments also participating once a month:
- Support measures for regions prone to recurrent droughts will be improved and water resource infrastructure support for island areas will be bolstered.
- In particular, the government will make it mandatory to establish regional drought countermeasures by the end of the year and ensure the proactive procurement of related equipment and materials.
Please refer to the attached files.
