Hong Nam-ki: "Private Investment Lacking in Big 3 Industries... Only One Out of Ten Regulatory Reform Items Addressed"

Chairing the 'Innovation Growth Big 3 Promotion Meeting with Related Ministers' on the 23rd
"12.5% of 463 Support Projects Involve Regulatory Reform"

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki delivers opening remarks while presiding over the meeting of related ministers for the Innovation Growth Big 3 Promotion Conference held at the Government Seoul Office in Gwanghwamun, Seoul on the 23rd. (Photo by Ministry of Economy and Finance)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki evaluated on the 23rd that "Among the 463 support tasks for the Big 3 industries (system semiconductors, future cars, bio-health) since the end of last year, only 12.5% were related to regulatory reform support, which is still insufficient to induce private investment activation."

Deputy Prime Minister Hong presided over the "Innovation Growth Big 3 Promotion Meeting Ministers' Meeting" at the Government Seoul Office that morning and made this statement. The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Hong, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Moon Seung-wook, Minister of Environment Han Jeong-ae, Minister of SMEs and Startups Kwon Chil-seung, Financial Services Commission Chairman Ko Seung-beom, as well as vice ministers from the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

The attendees reviewed the achievements such as the nurturing of the innovation growth Big 3 industries and the progress of the Innovation Enterprise National Representative 1000 Project since the launch of the Big 3 Promotion Meeting in December last year, and discussed future directions. So far, the Big 3 Promotion Meeting has discussed 48 agenda items and 463 tasks over 14 sessions since the end of last year. Deputy Prime Minister Hong explained, "The support budget for the Big 3 industries was increased by 43%, from 4.4 trillion won last year to 6.3 trillion won next year, and research and development (R&D) and investment tax credits in the national core strategic technology fields were greatly expanded."

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global economic environment is rapidly changing due to the reconstruction of the global value chain (GVC) and the acceleration of future industry leadership competition. Accordingly, major countries such as the United States and the European Union (EU) are actively pursuing domestic-centered industrial development policies. The government believes that Korea is also strengthening the growth ecosystem of the Big 3 industries by focusing on nurturing these industries, with rapid increases in technology development, investment, and exports, maintaining and strengthening global leadership positions. However, the government views that this has not yet led to the activation of private investment.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong diagnosed, "Despite difficult domestic and international conditions, achievements such as the world's number one market share in hydrogen vehicles, recovery of semiconductor companies' sales to number one, and entry of bio-health into the top 10 export items are becoming visible one by one. However, among the 463 support tasks in the Big 3 sectors, nurturing support accounts for 50.1% of the total, while regulatory reform accounts for only 12.5%, which is still insufficient to induce private investment activation."

The government plans to focus its policies on four directions: ▲ regulatory reform and ecosystem creation ▲ firm implementation and acceleration of existing measures ▲ public-private cooperation and cooperation between large and small-medium enterprises ▲ strengthening communication with the field.

Meanwhile, regarding the Innovation Enterprise National Representative 1000 Project, 600 innovative companies have been selected in three rounds so far and 3.8 trillion won in funds have been supported. By the end of the year, the fourth round of selection will be held, and by next year, 1,000 innovative companies will be selected and intensively supported to strengthen the ecosystem through the co-growth of the Big 3 industries and innovative companies.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong urged the related ministers and vice ministers, saying, "Domestic and international conditions are rapidly changing due to strengthened protectionism, supply chain internalization, and submission of NDC (greenhouse gas reduction targets). Please propose opinions on support directions, discussion tasks, supplementation of existing tasks, and resolution of field difficulties so that the Big 3 sectors can secure world number one competitiveness early."

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