[Exclusive] Government Urgently Responds to Supply Chain Crisis, Promotes National Resource Database Development

Legal Basis for 'National Resource DB' Included in Proposed Resource Security Act
Continuous Monitoring of Core Mineral Supply Status Across Public and Private Sectors
Most Strategic Minerals Like Nickel and Rare Earths Expected to Be Subject to Information Collection

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] To respond to the supply chain crisis triggered by geopolitical conflicts such as the Ukraine situation, the government has decided to collect and database the inventory status of key minerals held not only by public institutions but also by private companies. This decision is based on the judgment that to strengthen the national-level supply chain management system, resource data from the private sector must also be closely examined.

According to related ministries on the 28th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is promoting the enactment of a Special Act on Resource Security, which contains the legal basis for establishing a 'National Resource DB (tentative name)'. The ministry plans to submit the related bill to the National Assembly in the form of a member's bill around April and implement it once passed. A government official explained, "Apart from traditional energy sources like oil and gas, there is no legal basis for the government to adjust supply and demand," adding, "The intention is to expand the scope of the existing legal framework to include key minerals with high import dependence for stable supply chain management."

The core of the special act is to significantly strengthen the government's information control power to build the national resource DB. According to the bill reviewed so far, private companies will be required to provide information such as key mineral inventories and import/export status upon government request. Previously, resource information accessible to the government was limited to data secured by public institutions such as the Korea Mine Reclamation Corporation. The government believes that relying solely on public institution data is insufficient to strengthen the supply and demand management system during supply chain crisis situations.

The DB is expected to cover most strategic minerals such as nickel and rare earth elements. The government plans to continuously monitor the supply and demand status of key minerals designated through notifications by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, regardless of whether they are in the public or private sector. Due to increasing supply chain risks caused by resource weaponization by major countries, it is highly likely that all resources necessary for national core industries such as semiconductors and secondary batteries will be included in the DB.

The problem is that such information is practically considered trade secrets. Although the government has proposed this measure as a last resort under the pretext of preemptively responding to supply chain disruptions, companies are expressing reluctance. There are also concerns that the government might set the supply chain crisis level excessively high, which could lead to an unnecessarily broad definition of strategic minerals.

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