Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Industry minister pledges full support for exporters
Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang, left, poses with Korea International Trade Association (KITA) Chairman Christopher Koo, at the latter's office in Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
By Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
The government will provide full support to help local companies bolster their outbound shipments against ongoing uncertainties such as global supply chain disruptions, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the conflict between the United States and China, the industry ministry said Friday.
“Our trade has been the backbone of the country's economy and the pillar of sustainable growth. I hope to work closely with the trade association in establishing a new vision and goals for trade and promoting trade policies to respond to rapidly changing conditions here and abroad,” Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang said during a meeting with Christopher Koo, chairman of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), at the latter's headquarters in Seoul.
“The public and private sectors need to work together to support the normalization of our economy amid deepening global uncertainties stemming from the prolonged war between Russia and Ukraine, China's lockdown of major cities and a competition for technological supremacy between the U.S. and China,” the minister said.
In response, Koo said, “the industry ministry and KITA are the best partners representing the public and private sectors on trade and supply chain issues.”
Established in 1946, KITA is an economic organization representing over 70,000 Korean exporting and importing companies. This was the industry minister's second meeting with the head of an economic organization since he took the office on May 13. The minister met with Chey Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), on May 18 as his first official meeting.
“We will do our best to support the supply chain between Korea and the U.S. and industrial dialogue, which was kicked off after the Korea-U.S. summit, as the best communication channel for the private sector,” Koo said.
“We will actively cooperate with the government in terms of promoting state affairs related to trade, such as responding to the spread of digital trade, resolving logistics difficulties and export of the service industry.”
Among the tasks on which the government is urged to take action, the industry minister said the priority will be on stabilizing supply chains.
He also mentioned that Korea and the U.S. agreed to launch a ministerial dialogue to discuss supply chain issues during the recent summit of the two countries' presidents, and said Korea established a supply chain cooperation network with countries in the Indo-Pacific region by officially joining the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).
The minister said that government plans to set up a supply chain crisis warning system to respond to supply chain disruptions. Also, it will come up with various support measures to minimize logistics costs for exporters.