"Please Support Reviving the Economy"... Ministers at the 'Free Non-Meeting' Urge Swift Policy Announcements

Yoon Requests Ministers to Speak Freely, Eases Tense Atmosphere
- Discussion on Activation Plans for Five Key Sectors: Main Industries, Overseas Construction, SMEs & Ventures, Tourism & Content, Digital, Bio & Space
- Ministers Demand Tax Benefits and Financial Support... Deputy Prime Minister Chu Jokes, "The Treasury Will Be Empty"
- Yoon: "Ministry of National Defense as Defense Industry Department, Ministry of Agriculture as Agricultural Industry Department... Let's All Work Together to Promote Industries"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] "The Ministry of National Defense should become the Defense Industry Department, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs should become the Agricultural Industry Department, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation should become the Construction and Transportation Industry Department, and the Ministry of Culture should also become the Cultural Industry Department. I ask everyone to work with the attitude that we all run together to promote industry and boost exports."

During the live broadcast of the 11th Emergency Economic and Livelihood Meeting presided over by President Yoon at the Yongsan Presidential Office building that day, discussions freely took place for 80 minutes regarding plans and requests from ministerial and vice-ministerial officials related to economic revitalization and industrial development. President Yoon, who came up with the idea of live broadcasting the Emergency Economic and Livelihood Meeting, chaired the meeting by minimizing his own remarks and instead giving ministers more opportunities to speak.

First, in his opening remarks, President Yoon explained the reason for deciding to live broadcast the Emergency Economic and Livelihood Meeting, saying, "Today, many people, especially businesspeople working on the ground, are curious about what policies the government has and what plans it will establish and implement to inject momentum amid the contraction of investment and economic activities due to high interest rates."

He then said, "Don’t be too nervous. Just speak sincerely and honestly to the people," and added, "I briefly saw some media reports earlier saying that I would throw tough questions to our ministers, but today I will listen carefully to your remarks together with the public, so please don’t worry and feel comfortable," which helped lighten the somewhat heavy atmosphere.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

◆Ministers say, "Deputy Prime Minister and Financial Services Commission Chairman, please provide support"... Yoon says, "If we give tax benefits, the government won’t actually lose out" = After President Yoon’s remarks eased the mood, ministers from various departments freely discussed demands for financial and tax support and announced countermeasures.

The topics of the free discussion were composed of five areas: ▲key industries ▲overseas construction ▲small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and ventures ▲tourism and content ▲digital, bio, and space industries. For each topic, ministers raised their voices emphasizing the need for support from the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Financial Services Commission.

Regarding key industries, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang displayed graphs by industry on the meeting room monitor and explained the bleak outlook for key exports such as semiconductors. He stated, "In the past semiconductor downturn, we achieved great results through significant investment," and announced a plan to proactively invest 340 trillion won through public-private cooperation. Minister Lee repeatedly emphasized, "Location is important for semiconductors," and requested, "Location regulations need to be resolved quickly, and for this, national-level support is necessary."

Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups supported Minister Lee Chang-yang’s argument by mentioning the nurturing of fabless semiconductor design companies, saying, "Semiconductors are supported by 1,000 small and medium-sized companies."

Minister Lee Young also mentioned a plan to provide tax credit benefits to companies investing in venture firms through private mother funds. A private venture mother fund is a fund-of-funds that raises capital from the private sector, such as companies, and invests in sub-funds aimed at startups or venture companies. Currently, a 5% tax credit is given only when a domestic corporation directly invests in a venture company or indirectly invests through a small and medium business startup investment association. The plan is to extend such benefits to private mother funds to activate venture investments led by the private sector.

Minister Lee Young said, "We must not stop due to the recession, so strong incentives like tax support are necessary," and "I strongly request this from the Deputy Prime Minister." Deputy Prime Minister Choo also emphasized, "We will significantly strengthen tax support so that private funds flow more into ventures," and added, "We will provide generous support within the range that does not shake fiscal soundness."

Listening quietly, President Yoon said, "If we don’t provide tax credits or tax support, investments won’t happen, so if we give bold tax benefits on investment returns, the government actually won’t lose out," urging active support.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong explained that since construction orders have been activated in oil resource countries and others, private companies and the government are working as one team in bidding battles. He raised the issue that the 52-hour workweek is also applied to overseas construction, causing problems in winning orders. President Yoon responded, "Within the scope of guaranteeing workers’ health rights, let’s enable proper business operations." Minister Won then looked toward Deputy Prime Minister Choo and said, "Please provide financial support first..." This implied a request for active interest in package financial support for overseas construction, as sometimes only financial investment support is requested rather than simply winning construction orders.

Deputy Prime Minister Choo laughed heartily, saying, "The Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is looking me in the eye and earnestly asking for money," and replied, "First, we will actively secure stable and competitive financing centered on policy banks such as the Export-Import Bank."

Regarding K-Culture, K-Content, tourism, and related matters, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Bo-gyun mentioned plans to landmark the Blue House and Gwanghwamun areas and improve visa issues. He then said, "I heard the Minister of Economy and Finance has prepared financial and tax support measures." Deputy Prime Minister Choo explained that although the treasury is almost empty, to attract tourists, the VAT refund expiration period will be extended until 2023, and 500 billion won will be supported until 2027 for an innovative tourism enterprise development fund.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

◆Yoon instructs, "Work with the attitude that we all run together to promote industry and boost exports"＝ At the end of the 80-minute meeting, President Yoon joked, "We didn’t plan to do two hours," and emphasized, "The government’s basic economic policy direction is to manage the system so that companies can carry out management activities with creativity and autonomy under a fair market order," adding, "The government’s role in economic revitalization is to provide good shoes and uniforms, better supervision, and technology so that the private sector can run better."

Using the tourism sector as an example, he explained, "It’s not just about seeing historic sites or scenery; without combining with K-Content culture, it’s difficult to foster a competitive tourism industry," and said, "If the government creates markets from street stalls to tent markets equipped with heating, cooling, elevators, and escalators, transactions and investments will be more active in those markets."

He added, "The government’s role is to create hardware and software that enable smooth commerce even in cold, rain, and wind."

Furthermore, he urged, "All ministries should approach their work with the attitude that the Ministry of National Defense is the Defense Industry Department, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is the Agricultural Industry Department, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation is the Construction and Transportation Industry Department?not a regulatory agency?and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is the Cultural Industry Department, all running together to promote exports."

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