Choi Sang-mok "Significantly Strengthen Inter-Ministerial Collaboration on Low Birthrate and Youth Support"

Economic Ministers' Meeting in Operation

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok is delivering opening remarks at the Economic Ministers' Meeting held on the 13th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Strategy and Finance, stated, "We will strengthen inter-ministerial coordination focusing on key investment tasks such as addressing low birth rates, supporting youth, and nurturing talent in advanced and strategic industries."

On the 13th, Deputy Prime Minister Choi presided over the Economic Ministers' Meeting at the Government Seoul Office and said in his opening remarks, "Next year's government budget will be prepared from the perspective of the people, not individual ministries, by significantly enhancing cross-ministerial collaboration."

He emphasized that through this, the efficiency of fiscal management will be improved while solving complex economic and social problems from the demand-side perspective.

Deputy Prime Minister Choi stressed, "The more complex the issue, the more we must break down the barriers between ministries to expand the space and capacity for policy, becoming an 'economic one team that finds solutions'." Reflecting this determination, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance explained that the meeting body, which had been operated as the 'Emergency Economic Ministers' Meeting,' was renamed the 'Economic Ministers' Meeting' starting today. At the same time, in response to crisis situations, the 'Emergency Economic Ministers' Meeting' will be held, and for reviewing livelihood policies, the 'Livelihood Economic Ministers' Meeting' will be convened flexibly.

He assessed, "Over the past two years, the economic team has devoted all efforts to overcoming unprecedented global complex crises and improving the structure of our economy," adding, "The road ahead for the economic team to reach the destination of growth that the people can feel is still long."

He continued, "There are still many tasks ahead for the economic team, such as solving livelihood issues, building a solid middle class, enhancing economic dynamism, and creating quality jobs," and self-evaluated, "The government's will to definitely solve these difficult problems is clearer and firmer than ever."

At the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Choi and related ministers discussed plans for promoting collaborative budgets, diagnosing the current status of venture investment and response measures, strengthening the competitiveness of regional growth support services, and revitalizing fishing villages and coastal areas.

First, Deputy Prime Minister Choi said, "Despite uncertainties in interest rates, venture investment in the first quarter of this year has fortunately shown a recovery trend," adding, "To ensure this trend continues without being shaken by external factors, we will create new venture funds amounting to about 2.8 trillion won within this year and prepare a comprehensive 'Venture Investment Plan' covering fund formation, investment, and recovery in the second half of the year."

Before preparing the comprehensive plan, he explained that the competitiveness of regional growth support services will be strengthened to foster the growth of the startup ecosystem outside the metropolitan area. He said, "To support the formation of funds by regional investment and incubation specialized companies, we will reduce the burden of securing private investors and self-investment funds and expand the scale of investment recovery using the Korea Fund of Funds so that incubation specialized companies can invest in more venture firms."

Additionally, he mentioned, "To revitalize the livelihood economy of fishing villages and coastal areas, we will expand investment incentives, such as creating opportunity development zones using idle national and public lands within fishing villages," and added, "Through regulatory improvements and digital transformation, we will enhance the productivity and safety of fisheries to create fishing village sites where people enjoy working."

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