Government Launches 'Post-Corona Response Team'... "Preparing GVC Restructuring in H1 and Non-Face-to-Face Industry Promotion Policies"

'Post-Corona Industrial Strategy Dialogue and 1st Meeting of the Industry and Corporate Crisis Response Team' Held
"GVC Restructuring, Non-Face-to-Face Industry Promotion, 'K-Bio' Global Expansion, and Free Trade Leading Policy Preparation in the First Half"
In the Second Half, Presentation of 'Post-Corona Industrial Strategy'... "Strengthening Industrial Field Responsiveness and Eco-Friendly Structural Transformation"

Sung Yoon-mo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government is set to fully activate the 'Industrial and Corporate Crisis Response Team' (Non-Emergency Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters). It has presented eight strategic response tasks to proactively address the looming global economic crisis following the COVID-19 pandemic. Specific policies related to the reorganization of the GVC (Global Value Chain), fostering non-face-to-face industries, and 'K-Bio' exports will be prepared within the first half of the year.

On the 6th, Sung Yun-mo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, announced this during his opening remarks at the 'Post-COVID Industrial Strategy Dialogue and the 1st Meeting of the Industrial and Corporate Crisis Response Team.' The meeting was held at 10 a.m. at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, chaired by Minister Sung. Attendees from the government included officials from 13 related ministries such as the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Prime Minister's Secretariat, and the Ministry of Economy and Finance. From the private sector, executives from Hyundai Motor Company, SK Bioscience, Deloitte Anjin, SSG.com, Uber, Dotmill, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Smart Manufacturing Industry Association, the Korea Aviation Association, and Professor Heo Yoon from Sogang University participated.

Minister Sung stated that the Non-Emergency Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters will play a central role in overcoming future economic crises and presented the 'Five Post-COVID Changes and Eight Response Tasks.' The five changes identified are: ▲ positioning core supply chains closer to home and establishing a permanent quarantine system (health environment), ▲ the full-scale emergence of a non-face-to-face economy and the possibility of sustained low oil prices (economic environment), ▲ the advent of a high-cost management era and concerns over reduced capacity for new investments (corporate management), ▲ expansion of win-win cooperation between companies and between companies and their partners (social value), and ▲ the decline of global free trade and the potential resurgence of trade wars (global trade).

The eight response tasks include ▲ reorganization of the GVC, ▲ establishment of production bases without shutdowns (temporary suspensions), ▲ spreading 'K-Quarantine' and 'K-Bio' as global standards, ▲ fostering non-face-to-face industries, ▲ innovation in the energy industry and response to low oil prices, ▲ enhancing corporate vitality and supporting new industry investments, ▲ solidarity among economic agents, and ▲ exercising global trade leadership.

As a response to GVC reorganization, measures such as promoting corporate return (reshoring), managing core items, and attracting key companies within the value chain will be implemented to make Korea a transparent and safe advanced product production base. To minimize production disruptions even in the event of infectious disease outbreaks, support will be provided for production line rearrangement, designing collaboration methods between robots and humans, and standardizing methods by industry and company. 'K-Quarantine' and 'K-Bio' will be developed into new Korean Wave global products following 'K-Pop' and 'Parasite.' Utilizing Korea's position as the world's second-largest producer of biopharmaceuticals, the plan is to make Korea a global center for vaccine production.

By leveraging 5G, digital infrastructure, and Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, investments in non-face-to-face industries such as online distribution, edutech, and smart healthcare will be increased to capture the market. In response to the low oil price trend, energy consumption efficiency will be improved, and new industries such as renewable energy and the hydrogen economy will be expanded to innovate industrial structures and seize opportunities for energy transition. To this end, the dependence on fossil fuels in key industries such as steel, petrochemicals, and refining will be gradually reduced.

Corporate investment difficulties will be reviewed to prevent project setbacks, and bold business restructuring will be promoted. Structural reforms will be induced in the automobile sector through manufacturing of core hydrogen fuel cell components and in steel through fostering high-value-added steel products such as color steel sheets. Through alliances between large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as cross-industry cooperation, exemplary cases of 'Korean-style industrial solidarity and win-win cooperation' will be actively created. For example, within industries, foundry openings and win-win fabs will be established, and early payment of suppliers' delivery fees will be implemented. Cross-industry joint ventures into new industries, exchange of retired personnel, dispute cessation, and joint overseas expansion will be encouraged.

As Korea is recognized as a model country for quarantine and a manufacturing powerhouse, it will lead discussions on dismantling protectionism and promoting free human and material exchanges on the global stage. Korea will pioneer a standard model for exempting essential corporate personnel from entry restrictions, propose halting additional trade and investment barriers through bilateral and multilateral forums. Earlier, on the 1st, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced a joint declaration to facilitate the movement of essential personnel and trade among Korea, Singapore, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Also, as of the 1st, a fast-track entry system exempting Korean and Chinese businesspeople from the two-week quarantine was implemented.

Minister Sung said, "We will prepare a series of strategies and policies in collaboration with ministries to respond to the five post-COVID changes in each sector. First, within the first half of the year, we aim to prepare policies for global supply chain reorganization, fostering non-face-to-face industries, global expansion of K-Quarantine and K-Bio, and post-COVID global cooperation leadership."

He also announced plans to present a comprehensive 'Post-COVID Industrial Strategy' (tentative name) in the second half of the year, which will include strengthening industrial field responsiveness, environmentally friendly industrial structural transformation, promoting corporate vitality and business restructuring, and solidarity and cooperation among companies.

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