Choo Kyung-ho: "3% Tax Credit for Mining Rights Investment in Secondary Batteries... Institutionalizing Capacity Change Information Disclosure"

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho announced on the 13th that "starting next year, a 3% tax credit will be introduced for overseas mining rights investments to stabilize the supply chain of key minerals for secondary batteries."

Deputy Prime Minister Choo presided over an emergency economic ministers' meeting at the government Seoul office that morning and said, "We will further strengthen the competitiveness of the secondary battery industry across the entire cycle, from securing key minerals to utilizing used batteries."

According to the government's disclosed 'Plan to Strengthen the Competitiveness of the Secondary Battery Industry Across the Entire Cycle,' used batteries will be systematically managed from the perspective of fostering the industrial ecosystem rather than waste disposal. Specific support legislation is planned to be prepared next year.

Deputy Prime Minister Choo explained, "If used batteries meet the remanufacturing and reuse standards through performance evaluation, they will be recognized as 'products' rather than 'waste,' and related systems will be improved, such as extending the storage and processing period for used batteries by recycling companies from the current 30 days to 180 days."

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho is presiding over the Emergency Economic Ministers' Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 13th, delivering opening remarks.

He added, "We will actively support facility investments of promising secondary battery companies by providing more than 38 trillion won in policy financing over the next five years (2024?2028), including promoting the stockpiling of 100 days' worth of essential minerals for secondary batteries such as lithium and cobalt by 2031."

The government also plans to mandate that information such as product capacity changes be disclosed online in relation to so-called 'shrinkflation,' where businesses raise prices through deceptive means by changing product capacity without notice.

Deputy Prime Minister Choo said, "We will regulate distribution companies to post notices of capacity changes within stores, and expand the items that require unit price labeling," adding, "The obligation to display this information will be extended from existing offline stores to online businesses so that consumers can easily compare product prices."

The fuel tax reduction measure, scheduled to end at the end of this month, will be extended by two months. Deputy Prime Minister Choo stated, "Considering the ongoing uncertainty in future oil price trends due to the Middle East situation and the need to stabilize living costs, we will push to extend the fuel tax reduction measure and the diesel and natural gas price-linked subsidies, which are scheduled to end at the end of December, until the end of February next year."

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