KCCI Discusses COVID-19 Measures for Equipment Industry

Breakfast Meeting Held on the 16th

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Domestic heavy industries such as automotive, steel, and machinery are gathering in one place to discuss difficulties caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to the business community on the 14th, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry will hold a 'COVID-19 Industry-Specific Countermeasure Meeting' breakfast seminar at a restaurant near Seoul City Hall on the 16th.

The seminar is expected to be attended by more than 10 major domestic industry organizations and related companies, including Woo Tae-hee, the full-time vice chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, the Korea Petrochemical Industry Association, and the Korea Iron and Steel Association. They plan to discuss specific countermeasures for the shaken industrial ecosystem, such as production decline and worsening liquidity, as the global chain impact from the spread of COVID-19 intensifies.

The Korea Iron and Steel Association plans to repeatedly urge solutions to the burden of environmental energy costs at this meeting. A representative of the Steel Association said, "Urgent measures are needed to reduce the cost burden related to environmental energy, which is directly linked to production costs, such as lowering industrial electricity rates and stabilizing the greenhouse gas emissions trading system," adding, "We plan to focus on proposing policies to revitalize domestic demand, including expanding social overhead capital to stabilize steel consumption."

The Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association emphasized that liquidity supply must be promptly provided due to the sharp decline in export volumes. A representative of the Automobile Manufacturers Association explained, "More than 32 trillion won in liquidity supply is urgently needed to respond to the global demand cliff crisis," and added, "Practical measures such as extending tax payment deadlines and reducing corporate tax should be prepared as supplementary measures for export industries."

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry is reportedly planning to compile the proposals raised at the seminar by industry and directly submit them to the government in the future.

A business community official said, "It is urgent to establish safety measures for the country's key export industries, which have been directly hit by COVID-19," and urged, "The government should seriously recognize the situation faced by heavy industries and make efforts to ease their burdens."

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