Gwangju-Jeonnam Export Companies "Expect Regional Specialized Industry Development from Next Government"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Export companies in Gwangju and Jeonnam are expecting the next government to expand policy support for businesses as well as foster region-specific industries, according to a recent survey.

On the 22nd, the Gwangju-Jeonnam Regional Headquarters of the Korea International Trade Association announced the results of the "Survey on Policy Tasks Desired by Gwangju-Jeonnam Export Companies for the Next Government," which showed that 17.5% of all respondents identified the expansion of trade finance and export support measures as the key tasks the next government should prioritize.

Following that, 17.3% responded that fostering Gwangju-Jeonnam’s specialized industries was important. Companies indicated the need for practical and diverse financial and export support measures tailored to their circumstances, as well as equal support and investment without regional discrimination.

The trade industry assessed that unless the next government undertakes innovative efforts, the export-import conditions in Gwangju and Jeonnam will not significantly differ from those under past administrations.

Among the 194 companies surveyed, 71 (36.6%) answered that even if the next government is inaugurated, there will be no change in export-import conditions, while 32.5% responded that conditions would worsen.

On the other hand, 60 companies (30.9%) expecting improvement in export-import conditions with the new government’s inauguration expressed hopes for deregulation of businesses and promotion of balanced regional development by the next administration.

Regarding the priority of fulfilling campaign pledges presented during the presidential election, responses were evenly distributed among the creation of core industry clusters (21.8%), support for high value-added bio and agricultural/fishery products (21.5%), and expansion of trade and logistics infrastructure such as ports and highways (21.0%), indicating a desire for all proposed pledges to be fully implemented.

Kang Sung-eun, Manager of the Korea International Trade Association’s Gwangju-Jeonnam Regional Headquarters, stated, “For future balanced regional development, it is necessary to intensively nurture Gwangju-Jeonnam’s specialized industries such as AI and renewable energy to an exportable level, in addition to core industries like automobiles, petrochemicals, and semiconductors.” He added, “To achieve this, it seems essential to establish effective support systems such as trade finance and export support measures, along with improvements in the business environment and infrastructure expansion.”

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