The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) will establish an export crisis response system that combines its policy financing capabilities, said Yoon Hee-sung, chairman of the Export-Import Bank of Korea, in his New Year's message on Jan. 31.
In his message, he explained the changes in the external environment and the bank’s roles in the coming year.
While praising the hard work and achievements of the bank’s employees this year, Yoon diagnosed that external environments facing Korea Eximbank in 2025 are so tough that Korea Eximbank employees cannot have time to celebrate past achievements.
To make a breakthrough in the export crisis, Yoon promised to support Korea’s strategic order-taking industries and Korean companies entering new markets.
“Korea Eximbank should do its utmost to serve as a strong support center for core industries, such as automobiles and secondary batteries for small and medium-sized enterprises that will suffer from changes in the trade environment,” Yoon said.
“We will focus on supporting strategic order-taking industries such as shipbuilding, defense and nuclear power plants where the new US administration will be able to give opportunities and take the lead in entering new markets such as Global South.”
To this end, Korea Eximbank will establish an export crisis response system to check the difficulties of companies in the export sector at any time, analyze the impact of new trade and industrial policies on exports and supply chains as soon as they are announced, and support exports by implementing customized financial programs.
In addition, Yoon emphasized the bank’s responses to supply chain reorganization and diversification of export markets in order to make Korea Eximbank an international cooperation bank.
“To respond to supply chain reorganization, we must further strengthen our position in the global supply chains of high-tech industries, such as semiconductors, secondary batteries, and bio and strategically utilize them,” Yoon said.
“We must also secure partners to stabilize supply chains by leveraging local employment created by our overseas investments and our purchasing power in energy and raw materials.”
Yoon emphasized the need to diversify export markets into Latin America, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Africa, to reduce market concentration and increase recovery resilience.
“We will strive to build strategic partnerships beyond just expanding demand sources through an economic cooperation model in which exports, investment, and financial support from Korea Eximbank contribute to local economic and industrial development,” Yoon said.
“In a rapidly changing international order, Korea Eximbank needs to link Korea’s external strategies with the EDCF and create successful support cases that expand national interests by utilizing new development finance products,” Yoon said.
“We will introduce a new economic cooperation model with the K Finance Package which includes export financing and the Supply Chain Stabilization Fund, to help Korea rebound using Korea Eximbank as a springboard.”
Boosting Ship Financing to Secure Super Gap Leadership for Korean Shipbuilders
Yoon pledged to actively provide financial support for the Korean shipbuilding industry to secure its “super gap” leadership in the global market during his first industrial site visit of 2025.
Yoon attended a naming ceremony for an eco-friendly ship held at HD Hyundai Mipo in Ulsan on Jan. 6.
The visit aimed to understand the challenges faced by the shipbuilding industry amidst fierce global competition and to strengthen partnerships with clients who placed orders for the world’s first ammonia dual-fuel powered vessels with Korean shipbuilders.
“As competition intensifies among the Korean, Chinese and Japanese shipbuilding industries, it is critical to maintain Korean shipbuilding’s technological superiority through the continuous development of new technologies and the subsequent virtuous cycle of market dominance,” Yoon said during the event.
“Korea Eximbank will continue to globally promote Korean shipbuilding excellence and provide strategic financial support to international clients who contribute to Korean shipbuilders’ competitiveness with their orders for eco-friendly, high-value-added vessels,” Yoon added.
Following the ceremony, Chairman Yoon visited HD Hyundai Mipo Shipyard and engaged with the Korean shipbuilding industry to understand their concerns.
“To actively facilitate the shipbuilding industry’s recovery, Korea Eximbank has increased its ship financing volume to 12 trillion won for this year, a one-trillion-won increase compared to last year,” Yoon said.
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