Persistent Logistics Issues... Hong Nam-gi Announces Deployment of 13 Temporary Ships on Americas and Southeast Asia Routes

Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] The government has decided to deploy 13 temporary vessels this month on major export routes to the Americas and Southeast Asia to minimize disruptions in overseas exports. This is the largest monthly scale to date.

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, announced this on the 12th while presiding over the Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters meeting at the Government Seoul Office, adding, "We will provide an incentive of 20,000 won per container to shipping companies with increased container volumes."

As export volumes surged due to strong export performance, the government has supported 4 temporary vessels since the beginning of the year. The scale has been expanded monthly, increasing the number of temporary vessels to 9 last month. However, this was still insufficient to handle export volumes, so an additional 4 vessels will be added this month.

Along with this, the government decided to increase the number of national cargo flights on the Americas route to 3,300 in the second half of the year, 104 more than in the first half. The government will also actively support converting existing passenger planes into cargo planes for transportation.

Regarding the situation where small and medium export companies, which face more difficult conditions than large corporations, are unable to receive payments properly due to logistics delays, Deputy Prime Minister Hong said, "We will promote financial support such as emergency management stabilization loans worth 100 billion won and export promotion loans worth 30 billion won to support logistics costs," adding, "The payment period for short-term export insurance will also be shortened from the existing two months to one month."

To prevent companies from facing disruptions in the supply of major raw materials, non-ferrous metals such as copper, zinc, and tin will be sold at a maximum 2% discount this month. Additionally, a separate 100 billion won loan fund for raw material purchases by small and medium enterprises has been newly established.

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