Industry Meets President Moon: "Government Must Actively Support International Exchanges"

Major Industry Meeting
Need to Expand COVID-19 Support

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] CEOs of major national key industries expressed their hopes for additional government support beyond the 'Industrial Stabilization Fund' during a meeting with President Moon Jae-in on the 21st.

Kang Min-seok, spokesperson for the Blue House, stated that during the meeting held at the Korea International Trade Association conference room in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, with CEOs from key industries such as aviation, shipping, machinery, automotive, and shipbuilding, these demands from the business community were raised.

Woo Ki-hong, CEO of Korean Air and representative of the aviation industry, said, “We appreciate the government support through policy banks and will do our best to maintain employment,” adding, “We hope the government will more actively support the lifting of restrictions on international exchanges.”

In response, President Moon said, “The government is making tremendous efforts,” explaining, “We proposed the G20 summit and ASEAN+3 summit to be held via video conference. At those meetings, the lifting of necessary exchange restrictions was a very important topic and agreements were reached.”

President Moon continued, “So far, I believe we have had over 30 summit calls, and the central topic has been the resumption of exchanges and reopening of aviation,” adding, “China has established a fast-track system, and consultations with various countries have taken place. We will prepare concrete implementation plans.”

Jung Tae-soon, chairman of Janggeum Shipping and attending as the chairman of the Korea Shipowners' Association, expressed gratitude, saying, “Foreign seafarers were unable to disembark in other countries, so they had to live at sea for extended periods without setting foot on land,” and “Receiving a letter from First Lady Kim Jung-sook boosted the pride and morale of the seafarers.”

Chairman Jung also said, “In difficult times and unfavorable situations, we have come to understand the importance of the nation, and the Korea Ocean Business Corporation played a significant role,” adding, “The Korea Ocean Business Corporation was a dream for all maritime people. I am thankful for its establishment and will work hard.”

Ga Sam-hyun, CEO of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, suggested at the meeting that public orders for passenger ships, training ships, and experimental ships would greatly help the struggling shipbuilding industry.

Lee Won-hee, CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, said, “I hope support can be provided to excellent small and medium-sized enterprises with technological capabilities but lacking financial resources,” and added, “I understand that the Korean New Deal mentioned by President Moon includes the Green New Deal as one of its pillars.” He further stated, “We will develop electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, and autonomous vehicles,” and “We will contribute to economic recovery and job creation through the Green New Deal.”

Lee Jae-gap, Minister of Employment and Labor, expressed gratitude, saying, “I thank the entrepreneurs who are making efforts to maintain employment.” He continued, “Many companies and economic organization executives are participating in donations for the emergency disaster relief fund. I would like to express my thanks here,” emphasizing, “Donations have been incorporated into the Employment Insurance Fund.”

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, said, “We will actively review and reflect all the individual proposals made by businesspeople.”

Park Yong-man, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, “This is the third meeting between President Moon and business leaders during the COVID-19 situation, and I am grateful,” evaluating, “In the two previous meetings, the government and the business community actively responded to the crisis together and calmed public anxiety.” Chairman Park added, “There are high expectations for the Industrial Stabilization Fund,” and emphasized, “It is also important to revise laws and systems to overcome the crisis without increasing the government's financial burden.”

He then added, “After meeting with the new floor leaders of both ruling and opposition parties, I have gained hope for a working National Assembly.”

Earlier, the government decided to operate a 40 trillion won 'Industrial Stabilization Fund' to support companies struggling due to the economic crisis caused by COVID-19.

The Industrial Stabilization Fund is intended to inject emergency liquidity into key industries such as aviation and shipping that have been hit by the COVID-19 crisis. The target companies are large and medium-sized enterprises in the aviation and shipping sectors with total borrowings of 500 billion won or more and 300 or more employees.

Meanwhile, the company representatives attending the meeting included ▲ Woo Ki-hong, CEO of Korean Air ▲ Baek Soon-seok, CEO of Sharp Aviation K ▲ Jung Tae-soon, chairman of the Korea Shipowners' Association ▲ Bae Jae-hoon, CEO of HMM ▲ Son Dong-yeon, CEO of Doosan Infracore ▲ Lee Won-hae, chairman of Daemo Engineering ▲ Lee Won-hee, CEO of Hyundai Motor Company ▲ Oh Won-seok, chairman of Korea FT ▲ Ga Sam-hyun, CEO of Hyundai Heavy Industries ▲ Lee Soo-geun, CEO of Daesun Shipbuilding ▲ Heo Se-hong, CEO of GS Caltex ▲ Na Kyung-soo, CEO of SK General Chemical ▲ Ryu Seung-ho, CEO of Isu Chemical ▲ Choi Jung-woo, chairman of POSCO ▲ Lee Soon-hyung, chairman of SeAH Group ▲ Cho Hyun-joon, chairman of Hyosung ▲ and Min Eun-gi, CEO of Sungkwang.

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