Hong Nam-ki: "Vaccine Industry to be Developed as the 'Second Semiconductor'... 6.3 Trillion KRW Facility Investment Support"

"Big 3 Industries Including Future Cars, Supported by All Policy Measures"

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki delivers opening remarks while presiding over the Innovation Growth Big 3 Promotion Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 13th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki announced on the 13th, "To foster the vaccine and raw materials industry as the second semiconductor industry, we will support private facility investments worth 6.3 trillion KRW by 2024." Regarding high value-added industries such as the Big 3 industries including future cars, he said, "This year as well, we will comprehensively support DNA and Big 3 industries by mobilizing four policy tools?finance, taxation, financial support, and regulatory and institutional reforms?to upgrade the industries." The Big 3 industries refer to future cars, system semiconductors, and biohealth industries, while the DNA industries refer to data, networks, and artificial intelligence (AI) industries.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong held a Big 3 innovation growth promotion meeting at the Government Seoul Office that morning and stated, "We will nurture the rapidly growing biohealth industry, which has surged due to the COVID-19 crisis, as the next-generation food source and future growth engine." He emphasized, "We will intensively support this year’s budget of 353.9 billion KRW for three core promising bio sectors: new drugs, innovative medical devices, and advanced regenerative medicine, and promote the enactment of the Biohealth Promotion Basic Act this year to create a biohealth ecosystem that leverages our strengths." He added, "We will also steadily prepare for the digital transformation of medical institutions’ treatment information and the construction of a bio big data system for 1 million people."

Regarding the Big 3 industries, Deputy Prime Minister Hong stressed, "We will do our utmost to support the smooth progress of large-scale private investment and workforce development in these fields as planned." According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the government will increase fiscal investment in the DNA and Big 3 sectors by 25.7%, from 9.7 trillion KRW last year to 12.2 trillion KRW this year. Investments will be 5.9 trillion KRW for DNA and 6.3 trillion KRW for the Big 3 respectively. It will support the mobilization of funds totaling 78 trillion KRW, including 12 trillion KRW from the New Deal and the Korea Fund of Funds, and 66 trillion KRW from policy finance such as the Korea Development Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea. Deputy Prime Minister Hong diagnosed, "The DNA and Big 3 industries are areas where hegemonic competition between countries and companies is particularly fierce," and added, "Despite the turbulent environment caused by the COVID-19 crisis, weakening global value chains (GVC), and rising raw material prices, these industries are steadily establishing themselves as future core growth engines." He evaluated, "Last year, all three Big 3 industry sectors recorded their highest-ever exports, achieved global No. 1 in hydrogen vehicles, ranked second in the global system semiconductor market share, and rapidly emerged as a global vaccine hub, demonstrating considerable visible achievements."

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