Lee Chang-yang "Semiconductor Industry Strategy to be Announced This Month... Preparing for Industrial Transformation"

The 45th KCCI Jeju Forum
"Need for Industrial Transformation through Growth-Oriented Industrial Strategy"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Lee Chang-yang, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, stated on the 15th, "We will announce the semiconductor industry strategy within this month and sequentially prepare major sector-specific measures to steadily prepare for the industrial transformation."

Minister Lee attended the 45th Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jeju Forum held at the Jeju Haevichi Hotel & Resort and said, "We plan to create future growth engines and strengthen the job base through securing a super-gap in advanced industries such as semiconductors and displays, and upgrading key industries."

He diagnosed, "An industrial transformation through a growth-oriented industrial strategy is necessary. Growth potential and dynamism are continuously declining, and external economic conditions are worsening due to the possibility of a global economic recession and increased uncertainty."

He continued, "The working-age population, investment, and productivity growth rate, which are key factors determining economic growth, are continuously decreasing, and South Korea's potential growth rate is expected to fall to the 0% range after 2030." He pointed out that the investment attractiveness has declined due to South Korea's regulatory environment ranking at the bottom among OECD countries, and that the backward labor-management culture, ranked around 130th out of 141 countries in labor-management cooperation, is also a factor worsening the corporate investment environment.

Minister Lee said, "Investment has the effect of killing four birds with one stone: rapid economic revitalization, job creation, acquisition of new technologies embodied in facilities, and overcoming high costs through productivity improvement," and added, "The top priority of the new government's industrial policy is to promote investment-led growth by encouraging corporate investment."

As the first industrial policy direction, he explained, "To revitalize private investment, we will strengthen the three-pronged set of investment activation measures: regulatory reform, investment incentives, and site improvement, to promote an investment-led growth strategy."

Additionally, with the enforcement of the Special Act on National Advanced Strategic Industries in August, core technologies of advanced industries such as semiconductors and displays will be designated as national advanced strategic technologies, and tax support expansion as well as incentives such as electricity and water supply will be provided. Advanced industry specialized complexes will be prioritized to be established as national industrial complexes.

Minister Lee explained that to advance the innovation system, "We will focus investment on challenging and goal-oriented research and development (R&D), establish a pan-ministerial industrial technology innovation alliance to link R&D and commercialization means across ministries, and nurture 140,000 industry-specific professionals through designation of advanced specialized universities."

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