Presenting High Value-Added Service Export Strategies... Improving Export Competitiveness

Government Announces Emergency Economic Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters Meeting
Focused Support on Content, Medical and Healthcare Sectors
Establishment of System to Ease Support Requirements in Q3

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government has announced a tailored support strategy for exporting high value-added services. It will select six major K-service industries and invest 4.6 trillion won by 2023.

On the 13th, Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, announced the 'K-Service Overseas Expansion Activation Plan' at the Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters (Economic Central Headquarters) meeting.

First, the export support criteria, which have been centered on manufacturing, will be adjusted to fit service companies, and 4.6 trillion won in funding will be supplied by 2023.

Through this, the service export ranking, currently at 16th in the world, will be raised to within the top 10 by 2025.

Specifically, the government selected ▲Content ▲Medical & Healthcare ▲Edutech ▲Digital Services ▲Fintech (Finance + Technology) ▲Engineering as the '6 promising K-services.'

The government will establish a 'service company tailored research and development (R&D) system' in the third quarter to relax support requirements such as sales volume.

This includes easing sales volume standards and selection criteria for service sectors and expanding the scope of research and labor costs usage compared to manufacturing.

To reduce export failures of startups without a track record, comprehensive support will be provided.

This aims to break the structural vicious cycle where companies with technological capabilities fail to achieve results on the global stage and to revive the spark of innovation.

In this regard, tailored growth support for K-service startups and venture companies, as well as global standardization work for non-face-to-face services and core technologies, will be carried out.

Projects or business models combining services and key manufacturing products will be discovered and supported in R&D and exports in the fields of bio-health, robotics, drones, automobiles, and subscription economy. Marketing of K-services will be strengthened by linking Hallyu and K-quarantine.

The government will also strengthen the use of public development assistance (ODA) package strategies and K-free trade agreements (FTAs) tailored to partner countries' demands, as mentioned in last month's 'Post-COVID New Trade Strategy (K-Trade Strategy).'

A new 'Public-Private Joint ODA Project Planning Council' will be established to plan businesses linking hardware and services.

Synergies will be created in services as much as in manufacturing through existing trade systems such as FTAs.

Service and investment negotiations with China and Russia will expand the FTA network. Strategic and reciprocal cooperation projects will be discovered in key service sectors in promising markets such as the New Southern and New Northern regions.

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