Yoon Hee-seong, President of Su-eun, "Proactive and Aggressive Financial Support Needed"

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] "'One must always change to remain consistently the same,' with the mindset of 'Neungbyeon Yeosang (能變如常),' I will lead the changes and innovations at the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM)."

On the 27th, Yoon Hee-seong, President of KEXIM, made this statement at his inauguration ceremony. President Yoon said, "Our economy is facing a triple high of high inflation, high interest rates, and high exchange rates, along with concerns over economic recession due to monetary tightening in the U.S. and other countries, global supply chain disruptions, and the prolonged Ukraine crisis," adding, "KEXIM, a strong supporter of our economy, must find breakthroughs to overcome the economic crisis and provide proactive and aggressive financial support."

To overcome the current crisis and prepare for the future, President Yoon called for KEXIM to become ▲ resilient in crises ▲ future-oriented ▲ creative ▲ and sustainable.

First, to become resilient in crises, President Yoon convened an internal comprehensive emergency economic task force at KEXIM to devise support measures and implement them immediately. He stated, "Global supply chain disruptions pose a significant threat to our economy, which is highly dependent on external factors, so we must respond with full force," and added, "We will proactively secure foreign currency liquidity in preparation for increased uncertainty in global financial markets and actively support government policies through swift and aggressive financial assistance."

There are also plans to actively support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). President Yoon said, "SMEs are the backbone of our economy and the driving force behind job creation," noting, "They are currently facing great difficulties due to the recent economic crisis, making policy support urgently needed." He further added, "KEXIM must take the lead in reinforcing weakened links within industries and creating new links, such as SME participation in new industries."

President Yoon emphasized the need for active investment to prepare for the future. He said, "Investment is shrinking due to uncertainties such as rapid interest rate hikes and concerns over recessions in major countries," and added, "At times like this, we must nurture new growth engines by providing advanced support for future strategic industries like hydrogen and eco-friendly industries addressing climate change."

In particular, there is a plan to develop the nuclear power and defense sectors as the second strategic order-receiving industries following traditional order-receiving industries such as overseas construction, plants, and shipbuilding. President Yoon said, "With the implementation of carbon neutrality to address climate change and the energy and security issues triggered by the Ukraine crisis, demand for nuclear power and defense is increasing," and added, "We will strengthen policy financial support for new nuclear power orders and the restoration of the nuclear power ecosystem, and closely cooperate with the government and foreign governments to lead the expansion of defense exports."

Additionally, President Yoon emphasized, "We must continuously develop various financial instruments and creatively integrate them to pursue change and innovation in policy finance," and stressed, "We need to find a balance between active policy finance supply and risk management to establish a sustainable management foundation."

President Yoon is KEXIM’s first internally appointed president, having joined the bank in 1988 and served as head of the Public Relations Office, head of the International Finance Department, head of the Fund Market Division, and head of the Innovation Growth Finance Headquarters.

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