Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 Construction in 2024... Training 140,000 Industry Professionals (Comprehensive)

Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Work Report
Nuclear Power Share Expanded to Over 30%
'Negative Zone' Raised to 50%
140,000 Industry Specialists Trained

Minister Lee Chang-yang of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is speaking at the 1st Emergency Economic Ministers' Meeting held on the 19th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] On the 12th, Lee Chang-yang, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, reported to President Yoon Seok-yeol that "the environmental impact assessment for Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4 will be immediately initiated to promote construction in 2024." The energy mix will also be redesigned to expand the share of nuclear power to over 30%. The goal is to abandon the anti-nuclear policy and rebuild the energy system to newly leap forward as a nuclear power nation.

Minister Lee stated at the policy briefing at the Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul, "We will strengthen the nuclear power industry to innovate energy supply and demand as well as create new industries." Accordingly, the nuclear power workload will be expanded to 130 billion KRW this year and increased to over 1 trillion KRW by 2025. With the goal of exporting 10 nuclear reactors by 2030, the Nuclear Export Strategy Promotion Team will be fully activated from this month to concentrate efforts on securing nuclear power orders from the Czech Republic and Poland.

Along with this, Minister Lee reported, "We will implement a five-year strategy to secure Korea's 30-year growth engine through growth-oriented industrial strategies, national interest and practical trade strategies, and energy supply and demand innovation." This is based on the judgment that Korea's economic growth potential and dynamism are continuously declining, global economic recession concerns are rising, and competition for securing industrial competitiveness among countries has intensified.

To ensure stable power supply during the summer, up to 9.2 GW of additional reserve resources will be secured. This summer's power reserve capacity is considered to be between 5.2 and 9.2 GW, reflecting the necessity relative to power demand. The "Energy Cashback" system will be introduced nationwide to promote demand efficiency. Energy Cashback is a system that compares electricity saving rates among neighboring households or complexes and provides cashback incentives to those achieving higher-than-average savings.

Additionally, to activate private investment, cash support for national strategic technologies for foreign-invested companies will be raised to the maximum limit (50%), and the ratio of "Negative Zones" in industrial complexes where all manufacturing industries can settle will be increased from the existing 30% to 50%. A roadmap for talent development will be prepared by the first half of 2023 to train 140,000 specialized personnel by industry. To this end, more than 10 specialized universities (graduate schools) for advanced industries will be designated.

Among 53 corporate investment projects worth a total of 337 trillion KRW, 271 trillion KRW across 27 projects hindered by regulations will be resolved through the Economic Regulatory Innovation Task Force (TF). The scope of investment tax credits will continue to expand to include detailed technologies related to semiconductors, new and original technologies, and national strategic technologies, and national funding support for infrastructure such as power and water supply will be pursued.

From this year until 2027, a 400 billion KRW public-private joint fund will be established to foster mid-sized companies. For next-generation semiconductor research and development (R&D), a key growth industry, 800 billion KRW will be supported by 2030. The display and battery sectors will also focus on strengthening competitiveness in the global market through designation as national advanced strategic technologies and cooperation with resource-holding countries. Support for the transition to future vehicles will be provided to 1,200 automobile parts companies.

Supply chain responsiveness linking industry and trade will also be enhanced. The plan is to stabilize the supply of critical minerals and raw materials through local facility investments and import diversification. For advanced industrial innovation, advanced knowledge and personnel exchanges will be promoted through follow-up measures after summit meetings with major countries in the United States and Europe.

Proactive participation in discussions on new trade norms such as green and digital will create a favorable external business environment for Korean companies. Korea plans to lead related discussions by participating in economic cooperation bodies such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), launched under U.S. leadership last May. As new growth engines, promising industry sectors will be proactively identified, and a hydrogen fund worth 500 billion KRW will be established to foster the hydrogen industry.

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