Minister Moon Sung-wook of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) speaks about the direction of his ministry policies as he took office on May 6. (Photo: MOTIE)

Minister Moon Sung-wook of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) stressed the need to cope with future uncertainties of the Korean economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and suggested the direction for future policies.

In his inaugural speech, Minister Moon said, “Even if the economic situation is hard due to the pandemic, I bet it is lucky to show signs of an economic recovery as the nation saw exports log a surplus in April for the sixth consecutive month. The Korean economy is facing with a great inside and outside transition period following the shock of the pandemic.”

“Inside, the industrial structure, like realization of carbon neutrality and digital transformation, will have to be reorganized. While outside, the nation stands at a crossroad of strategic choices amid trade environment changes such as U.S.-China conflicts and the realigning of the global supply chain,” he said.

Companies suffer double difficulties: the pandemic and future uncertainties, and the ministry will have to ponder what Korean companies and industries now badly need, and what they have to do to make preparations for the future, Moon said.

Minister Moon expounded three goals: MOTIE faring for the development of regional economies, the ministry suggesting a vision to companies, and the ministry making preparations for the future.

MOTIE’s policies and projects become strengths and hopes to many regions, but there are still discrepancies in the course of implementation at regional sites, said Moon, adding that merely establishing policies and setting budgets are insufficient.

Moon said it’s not easy for regions to reflect the ministry’s policies and projects in a short period of time. He called for the ministry to make joint efforts to achieve goals, by guiding the purpose of projects properly, and demonstrating leadership while implementing them.

The minister stressed that Korean companies need to build momentum toward future visions. He called for the ministry to create a virtuous cycle, in which the ministry suggests policies and visions to companies, and then the businesses put their core manpower toward preparing for the future.

The capabilities the ministry has accumulated while implementing policies related to raw materials and parts have served as a buttress to overcome the crisis caused by Japan’s export restrictions against Korea.

If the ministry has no conviction, Korea would not have rewritten the story to become the global No. 1 shipbuilder in the world, he said.

The ministry has on its shoulders daunting tasks such as reinventing industrial structures, coupled with carbon neutrality, the energy paradigm shift, new growth engines such as system semiconductors, future cars and bio, realigning global supply chains, and coping with digital and eco-friendly trade regulations.

If the public and private sector join forces through anticipative technology innovation and manpower development, he said it will bring about hopes to Korean companies, and the ministry will spearhead inter-ministry collaboration.

New MOTIE Minister Tours System Chip Company to Listen to Worksite Voices

Minister Moon made an inspection tour at a power chip fabless company, and presided over a meeting with officials of the system semiconductor industry in Pangyo, Gyeonggi-do, on May 7. It was the first official duty he performed since he took office.

Before his inauguration, Moon vowed to make the ministry play a leading part in implementing policies related to semiconductors.

Minister Moon held such a meeting with system semiconductor industry officials to lend an ear to their voices. The ministry decided to establish “K-Semiconductor Strategies,” originally schooled to come out in the first half, in May.

Moon said the ministry will work out ways to support not only state-of-the-art leading processes, but also 8-inch foundry process investments to proactively cope with a shortage of foundries such car chips of late.

He said the ministry will take steps to ensure a stable supply of chip design manpower of the fabless industry.