Public Reserves of Automotive Urea to Be Released at End of April... Koo Yoon-cheol: "Crisis Response Ability Is National Competitiveness"

Due to the aftermath of the Middle East war, the government will release public reserves of automotive urea and urea solution at the end of April. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yoon-chul stated, "At this moment, the ability to respond to the Middle East war crisis is directly linked to national competitiveness," and pledged to resolve supply chain issues through regulatory exemptions and proactive administration.

Gu Yoonchul, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Strategy and Finance, who is visiting Washington D.C., USA, to attend the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - World Bank Spring Meetings, chaired the "Emergency Economic Headquarters Meeting" via video conference between Washington and Seoul on the evening of April 16 (local time) at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the United States. The meeting reviewed and discussed the departmental response status regarding the Middle East war. Ministry of Strategy and Finance

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Deputy Prime Minister Koo, who is visiting the United States for the G20 Finance Ministers Meeting, chaired the Emergency Economic Headquarters Meeting via video conference on April 16 (local time), reviewing and discussing the response status of each ministry related to the Middle East war.

In his opening remarks, Deputy Prime Minister Koo said, "Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised this year's global economic growth forecast downward from 3.3% to 3.1%." He diagnosed, "The Middle East war has become the greatest risk factor for the global economy through various channels such as high oil prices and inflationary pressures, supply chain disruptions, and financial market uncertainties." He added, "Until the end of the war becomes clear, we will maintain a solid emergency economic response system and actively address supply chain and livelihood difficulties."

At the meeting, key issues were reviewed for each response team: macroeconomy and inflation (Ministry of Economy and Finance), energy supply (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy), financial stability (Financial Services Commission), public welfare (Ministry of Health and Welfare), and overseas situation management (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). There was also discussion on the status of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and measures to ensure the safe passage of Korean vessels (Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries).

As a result of the meeting, it was decided that public reserves of automotive urea and urea solution would be released between April 22 and April 27. Deputy Prime Minister Koo explained, "This decision was made to proactively address inventory shortages at certain companies."

Koo Yoon-chul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, who is visiting Washington D.C., USA to attend the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) Spring Meetings, chaired an "Emergency Economic Headquarters Meeting" via video conference between Washington and Seoul at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the United States on the evening of April 16 (local time). He is reviewing and discussing the respective ministries' response status related to the Middle East War. Ministry of Economy and Finance

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In addition, the government is currently operating the "National Supply Chain Support Hotline" to resolve difficulties faced by field companies through regulatory exemptions and proactive administration. Measures have been implemented to relax the restriction period for adjusting public contract amounts due to increases in raw material prices, extend contract terms and exempt delay penalties, and exempt contract deposit allocations to local tax revenues. The government is also pursuing a grace period of up to nine months for customs and value-added tax payments for oil-importing refiners, subject to approval from customs authorities.

Deputy Prime Minister Koo requested that each ministry swiftly execute the supplementary budget recently passed by the National Assembly. He stated, "We will thoroughly coordinate with relevant ministries to ensure that more than 85% of the 1.05 trillion won set for prompt execution management, including high oil price support funds, is executed within the first half of the year."

He also called for active international cooperation to stabilize supply chains, including support for the safe passage of Korean vessels through the Strait of Hormuz and securing key supplies. Deputy Prime Minister Koo said, "We will actively support our vessels to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz by providing navigation information and operating a 24-hour technical support system."

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