Yoon Instructed by Ministry of Industry: "Abandon Bureaucracy and Respond as One with the Private Sector"

Shift to Bloc Formation in Free Trade System
Emphasis on Win-Win Cooperation Between Large and Small Businesses and Government-Private Collaboration
Activation Through Fostering 'Startup' for Future Technology Development

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 27th, President Yoon Suk-yeol emphasized the need for the government and the private sector to act as one body, completely abandoning bureaucratic thinking and responding with a focus on companies and citizens, in response to the rapidly changing international situation from a free trade system to bloc formation.

President Yoon made these remarks during the 2023 joint work report of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups held at the Blue House State Guest House in the afternoon, under the theme "Unyielding Export Powerhouse, Startup Nation Creating the Future."

He noted that the existing World Trade Organization (WTO) free trade system is fading and becoming bloc-oriented, emphasizing the importance of securing supply chains and high value-added industries centered on advanced industries, and called for active cooperation between the government and the private sector.

President Yoon stated, "Countries are forming blocs depending on how much interest, contribution, and responsibility they take regarding national security issues, political and social values of the country, and international public agendas. Trade and commerce issues are being handled as a so-called package."

He continued, "More than ever before, unless the government and the private sector truly act as one body and work together, it will be very difficult to promote exports, advance our companies overseas, and overcome our economic crisis. Also, it is not easy to procure essential raw materials for our industries."

Regarding corporate-related policies, he explained, "Our industrial policy for next year fundamentally focuses on the mutual growth and development between large corporations and small and medium enterprises."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He also clearly stated the need to revitalize the economy by supporting small business owners, resolving their difficulties, and fostering startups that develop new technologies.

President Yoon said, "Next year, we are pursuing two tracks to overcome our economic crisis: export promotion and the Startup Korea initiative," adding, "New technologies come from small companies and startups. We can clearly see what global large corporations looked like decades ago," highlighting the importance of startups.

He further urged, "Since these companies create quality jobs as they grow rapidly, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups should successfully implement the Startup Korea initiative next year."

Meanwhile, more than 150 people attended the work report, including officials from the Presidential Office, government, economic organizations, industrial groups, private sector, and industrial policy experts. At the policy direction report titled "Robust Real Economy, Unyielding Export Powerhouse," Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang announced key tasks to achieve next year's export target of over $680 billion (approximately 865.3 trillion KRW), facility investment of 100 trillion KRW, and attraction of foreign investment of $30 billion (approximately 38.19 trillion KRW). Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee Young, reporting under the theme "Global Startup Nation Creating the Future in the Digital Economy Era," presented core policy tasks centered on three major strategies: global expansion of startups, ventures, SMEs, and small merchants; digital transformation; and joint advancement.

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