Vice Minister Ki Jae: "Closely Monitoring Challenges in Key Industries... Exploring Various Solutions"

The 3rd Vice Ministers' Meeting on Prices and the 5th Innovation Growth Strategy Review and Policy Review Meeting Held

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Kim Yongbeom, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, stated that he is closely monitoring the difficulties faced by domestic key industries due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is actively seeking various measures to overcome the crisis.

On the morning of the 10th, Vice Minister Kim held the "3rd Vice Ministers' Meeting on Price Relations and the 5th Innovation Growth Strategy Review and Policy Review Meeting" at the Government Seoul Office and made these remarks in his opening statement.

He said, "Together with related ministries, we are closely inspecting the difficulties faced by our country's key industries," emphasizing, "Protecting the industries that have been built with great effort means protecting the jobs of our people." He added, "The government plans to actively explore various measures so that our key industries can overcome this crisis and turn it into an opportunity for a new leap forward."

He also made it clear that policies must be actively implemented on the ground. He expressed concern, saying, "If the measures on paper are operational plans, the execution on the ground is a battle that determines life or death," and "In situations where expectations and demands from the field flood in differently from normal times, the gap between plans on the desk and execution on the ground can become another dimension of disparity." Furthermore, he insisted, "As pointed out by Carstens, President of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), we must continuously seek and consider ways to ensure that necessary funds reach the very end of struggling companies and households quickly and sufficiently."

While most of the currently announced policies are being implemented normally, he pointed out that the public's perception of financial support for small business owners was low. He said, "I feel sorry that long waiting lines still continue in front of some small business support centers," and added, "Since commercial banks have many more branches and personnel compared to small business support centers, I expect that funds can be disbursed more quickly in the future."

He also mentioned employment stability, which is being shaken due to the prolonged COVID-19 situation. He said, "We are also working hard to stabilize employment at workplaces," citing examples such as ▲increasing employment retention subsidies ▲simplifying application procedures ▲improving IT system efficiency ▲raising support rates for job stability funds.

In addition, he emphasized the need for proactive measures in preparation for the prolonged export restrictions on food by various countries. He said, "Major international food-producing countries such as Russia, Vietnam, and Ukraine are restricting food exports," adding, "Although our country currently has sufficient stocks of major food crops such as rice, it is necessary to proactively respond through monitoring the international grain market in preparation for the prolonged export restrictions by these countries."

Finally, quoting messages from scholars including Mario Draghi, former President of the European Central Bank, he conveyed that the government recognizes the "core message" of "Act fast and do whatever it takes." Vice Minister Kim explained, "We will execute the announced measures swiftly with a heavy sense of responsibility to protect our citizens and companies facing difficulties."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.