Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, announced on July 8 that the government will support the restructuring of financially troubled companies by reflecting debt adjustments for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the win-win finance index evaluation and will invest 500 billion won in the development of ten special steel technologies.
During a meeting of the Emergency Economic Headquarters and the Ministerial Meeting on Economic and Industrial Competitiveness held at the Government Seoul Complex, Koo noted that despite a current account surplus of $141.28 billion and declining domestic and international oil prices, volatility in the foreign exchange and financial markets persists. He also pointed out ongoing inflationary pressures and employment slowdowns due to the impact of the Middle East conflict.
To support SMEs vulnerable to external crises, the government plans to implement a re-launch support strategy. By next year, it will establish an AI-based early warning system (EWS) that proactively alerts all SMEs to risk signs using artificial intelligence, aiding in the restructuring of financially troubled companies.
Koo stated, "We will reflect debt adjustments for SMEs in the win-win finance index evaluation and include companies under rehabilitation in the support for restructuring funds. We will provide comprehensive support in technology, personnel, finance, and market access to help growth-challenged companies transition to promising businesses."
Discussions also continued on securing new demand and enhancing competitiveness in the steel industry, which is facing a structural crisis due to global oversupply and the spread of protectionism.
The government plans to increase the use of high-quality materials and support connections between demand and supply companies to stimulate domestic demand. Koo emphasized, "We will block the circumvention of unfairly imported products by mandating the submission of production site information for imported steel products and will invest approximately 500 billion won in hydrogen reduction steelmaking and the development of ten special steel technologies, while also strengthening support for process improvements and safety investments through AI."
He further outlined plans to actively support regions facing industrial and employment crises to prevent the downturn in the steel industry from escalating into regional crises. Additionally, the government will identify more crisis response projects within this month.
Koo also remarked, "We will swiftly advance the three mega-projects as a national effort to lead global super-gap competition, and with the semiconductor cluster site in the Honam region selected, we will proceed with subsequent administrative procedures such as permits at full speed."
He added that the government aims to announce its economic growth strategy for the second half of the year soon, targeting the completion of a year of economic leap forward.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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