[2023 Economic Outlook] Yoon Administration's Economic Focus is 'Exports'... "Exports Are the Only Way to Survive"

First Goal, 'Leap to Become One of the World's Top 5 Exporting Countries'
Targeting 'Second Semiconductor Development' by the First Half of Next Year

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Presidential Office is coordinating next year's economic policy direction with relevant ministries to stabilize the macroeconomy and restore the livelihood economy. Amid warnings from economic experts that South Korea's economic growth rate next year could fall below the 1% range, the government judges that there are still significant export risk factors such as global economic slowdown and domestic logistics disruptions. It is encouraging that the current account surplus has continued for two consecutive months, albeit slightly. However, there is a common voice that a conservative approach is necessary due to numerous internal and external variables.

Economic ministries, including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, are paying close attention to President Yoon Seok-yeol's message of "strengthening exports." President Yoon has repeatedly emphasized, "Ultimately, our way to survive must be through exports." This is why the president personally established an export strategy meeting and attended it to provide detailed guidelines. President Yoon instructed, "As a country highly dependent on external factors, we have opened new paths through exports both in the 1960s and now," adding, "All cabinet members must do their best to support companies' overseas expansion and export fronts, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy should share information and necessary matters related to our ministries and cooperate mutually to support industrial advancement."

The first goal set by the Presidential Office is to leap into the "world's top 5 export nations." This means raising the export scale, expected to rank 6th globally this year, by one step. President Yoon also urged all public officials to adopt the perception of being an "organization supporting enterprises," saying, "All fields and policies must be newly organized to align with the goal of 'export expansion.'"

Each ministry's response is also progressing rapidly. The Office for Government Policy Coordination and the Ministry of Economy and Finance are regularly checking the progress of regulatory innovation in various fields. In this process, they are not only identifying regulations but also conducting legal analyses and comparing overseas cases to find improvement measures. Results closely related to national tasks are shared with the Presidential Office before detailed strategies are formulated.

The core focus remains the leading industry group, semiconductors. The plan is to establish a customized public-private joint strategy supporting industrial structural improvement aimed at nurturing a second semiconductor industry within the first half of next year. The export support capabilities of 18 export-related institutions, including the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, will be strengthened, and inter-ministerial collaboration performance will be checked monthly through export support councils.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Presidential Office and the pan-ministerial team are also looking into discovering additional promising export sectors. Each ministry plans to explore new promising export fields such as Information and Communication Technology (ICT), bio, and agricultural and marine food products. Internally, next year's export targets for promising sectors are set at $28 billion for bio and medical, $10 billion for agricultural products, and $16.6 billion for cultural contents. Additionally, the "non-customs export" sectors such as films, music, and games, which are excluded from export performance or support targets due to bypassing customs procedures, will receive expanded credit guarantees and marketing support.

Accordingly, President Yoon's overseas visits next year are also expected to focus on "business." A senior official from the Presidential Office explained, "The focus of this year's NATO, U.S., and Southeast Asia visits was essentially economic diplomacy, as South Korea's economic position in the global market equates to national prestige," adding, "Except for security on the Korean Peninsula, all overseas visits will be thoroughly pursued by the staff focusing strictly on business issues."

The Yoon administration's national agenda also appears to be shifting its weight toward export-centered policies. To this end, the Presidential Office has appointed a Policy Coordination Secretary under the Chief of National Policy Planning and an International Legal Secretary under the Chief of Staff. The Policy Coordination Secretary is tasked with supporting policy communication and coordination at the pan-government level, focusing on nuclear power and defense exports. The International Legal Secretary is expected to concentrate on reviewing export-related laws such as the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

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