Blue House Discusses 'K-Industry Breakwater'... "Blocking Outflow of Core Domestic Capabilities"

Discussions on Domestic Production Promotion Tax System and Korean Sovereign Wealth Fund

On April 16, the Blue House announced that at the senior secretaries' meeting presided over by President Lee Jaemyung, discussions were held on introducing the "K-Industry Breakwater" plan to respond to external threats and prevent the outflow of domestic core capabilities.

Jeon Eunsoo, spokesperson for the Blue House, stated during a briefing at Chunuchukwan that day, "In-depth discussions were conducted on strengthening sovereignty in K-industry manufacturing." She explained that the meeting specifically addressed expanding the procurement of domestically produced goods by the government and public institutions, strengthening the import certification system to block unfair imports, and implementing measures to prevent the overseas outflow of core technologies and talent. In the field of resource security, proposals were also raised to subsidize logistics costs for importing crude oil from non-Middle Eastern regions, as well as to support facility investments for diversifying import sources.

Jeon Eunsoo, spokesperson, is briefing on the emergency economic issue inspection meeting held on the 12th at the Blue House Chunuchukwan, presided over by Kim Yongbum, policy chief. April 12, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News.

There was also a discussion on fostering "Mother Factories." A mother factory serves as the central hub among a company's global production bases, leading manufacturing operations. The government's strategy is for demand companies to present their needs, supply companies to participate, and the public sector to act as the first purchaser, thereby creating demand. In addition, the plan is to establish an advanced manufacturing ecosystem by incorporating an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy and financial support. After inter-ministerial review, this initiative will be unveiled as the "Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chain Grand Transformation Strategy."

As for tax and financial support measures to enhance manufacturing sovereignty, Jeon introduced ideas such as the "Domestic Production Promotion Tax System," the "Strategic Export Financing Fund," and a "Korean-style Sovereign Wealth Fund." The meeting also discussed establishing GPU infrastructure, providing large-scale funding based on the National Growth Fund to nurture a Korean equivalent of Nvidia, and setting up a National AI Computing Center, all aimed at strengthening the manufacturing innovation ecosystem.

Jeon added, "Lastly, President Lee reminded everyone that policy decisions by the Blue House are of the highest national level," urging thoroughness in policy through intense debate and discussion. She emphasized that, especially when introducing new policies, every possibility should be examined to ensure that well-intentioned policies are not abused or used as means of tax evasion, strongly calling for enhanced policy completeness.

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