The New Southern Business Alliance Holds the 6th General Meeting

Asia Economy reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The New Southern Business Alliance held its 6th General Meeting on the 16th at the Koreana Hotel in Gwanghwamun.

The meeting, co-chaired by Kim Young-joo, chairman of the alliance, and Park Bok-young, chairman of the New Southern Policy Special Committee, was attended by representatives of 25 affiliated organizations including KOTRA and the Korea Federation of SMEs, as well as officials from government ministries such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the Financial Services Commission. They discussed the progress in resolving business difficulties related to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), reviewed cooperation projects in the New Southern region, and explored manpower supply plans for companies operating locally.

Chairman Kim Young-joo stated, “Our companies operating in the New Southern region are facing many difficulties such as entry and exit restrictions, factory shutdowns, and curfews due to the pandemic.” He added, “The alliance will work closely with our government and the governments of New Southern countries to resolve business difficulties, minimize damages, and promote continuous win-win cooperation with New Southern countries.”

Chairman Park Bok-young said, “The role of the alliance as a communication channel between the public and private sectors is important to overcome crises such as concerns over a second COVID-19 pandemic.” He added, “We will actively identify business difficulties and propose policies.”

On this day, the alliance discussed specific solutions with relevant government departments regarding the difficulties identified at the 5th meeting (April 22), including manpower and logistics (3 cases), health (2 cases), finance and taxation (3 cases), and publicity (4 cases).

At the meeting, the government decided to continue pursuing measures to support up to 30% of air freight costs (with a limit of 5 million KRW) to ease the burden on small and medium-sized exporters in the New Southern region. It was also agreed to support companies operating locally through the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund’s overseas business fund guarantee system when they secure financing from local financial institutions.

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