Choi Sang-mok: "Significant Impact if Trump's Policy Direction Materializes... Separate Committees Operating for Three Major Sectors"

Government Calls Meeting on Trump’s Second Term Inauguration
Establishes Financial, Trade, and Industry-Specific Panels for Response

The government has begun reorganizing its economic policies in response to the launch of the second term of the Trump administration. Separate committees will be established for the three major sectors?financial and foreign exchange markets, trade, and industry?that are significantly influenced by external factors to prepare countermeasures.

On the 7th, the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced that this was discussed at the 'Economic Ministers' Meeting and External Economic Ministers' Meeting' held at the Government Seoul Office Building, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok.

Ahead of the U.S. presidential election, the Ministry of Economy and Finance had been monitoring the situation through a task force (TF) involving related departments such as the Economic Policy Bureau, External Economic Bureau, and International Finance Bureau. With the victory of candidate Donald Trump virtually confirmed on this day, the government plans to reorganize the existing TF into three major sectors?financial and foreign exchange markets, trade, and industry?to actively prepare for the launch of the new U.S. administration.

Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Strategy and Finance, attended the Economic Ministers' Meeting and the Foreign Economic Ministers' Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 7th, where he spoke about the impact of the U.S. presidential election and response measures, as well as key Korea-U.S. trade issues. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

In his opening remarks, Deputy Prime Minister Choi said, "If the policy direction emphasized by President-elect Trump materializes, it is expected to have a significant impact on our economy. Therefore, we will use the Economic Ministers' Meeting as a government-wide control tower to take proactive and thorough measures."

He explained, "Separate committees will be activated for the three major sectors that are heavily influenced by external factors: the 'Macroeconomic and Financial Meeting' for the financial and foreign exchange market sector, the 'Global Trade Strategy Meeting' for the trade sector, and the 'Industrial Competitiveness Enhancement Ministers' Meeting' for the industrial sector. Relevant agencies will work together to actively prepare for the launch of the new administration."

The government will hold the Macroeconomic and Financial Meeting on the morning of the 8th to review trends in the financial and foreign exchange markets following the U.S. presidential election and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) results. Deputy Prime Minister Choi stated, "Volatility in domestic and international financial markets has increased during the U.S. presidential election and vote counting process. Given the expected heightened uncertainty due to the formation of the new government and Congress, as well as the FOMC, we will closely monitor market trends and take appropriate measures according to a phased response plan if volatility expands excessively."

Regarding the possibility of changes in the trade environment after the launch of the new U.S. administration, he said, "We will prepare contingency plans for major trade issues and maintain communication by activating cooperation channels between the two countries. In this process, we will listen to the voices of the industry to specify response strategies and minimize negative impacts on our companies."

Deputy Prime Minister Choi added, "Given the high external dependence of our economy, uncertainty in the domestic industrial environment may increase during the process of concretizing campaign promises. We will activate the 'Industrial Competitiveness Enhancement Ministers' Meeting' within this month to discuss response measures."

He stated, "At this critical time, when global industrial and trade environments are changing rapidly?such as accelerated catch-up by latecomer countries, intensified competition in advanced technologies, and restructuring of global supply chains?it is essential for our industry to achieve qualitative leaps and increase high value-added production. In response to these changes, if our companies pursue business model transformation, the government will actively support them by mobilizing all available means."

Finally, he emphasized, "We will expand investment in three major game-changing technologies?artificial intelligence (AI), quantum, and bio?while also increasing service exports focused on high value-added promising industries."

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