The temporary interagency organization under the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, responsible for export activation, discovering new growth drivers, tax reforms, and managing subsidies, will operate for another year. This decision stems from the need for these organizations' roles and functions in responding to trade uncertainties caused by the tariff policies of the new U.S. administration under Donald Trump and managing financial executions for recovery of livelihoods.
According to the government on the 19th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which has authority over government organization structuring, notified the four organizations under the Ministry of Strategy and Finance — the One-Stop Export and Order Support Team, the New Growth Strategy Planning Promotion Team, the Tax Reform Promotion Team, and the National Treasury Subsidy Misuse Management Team — of their activity extension the previous day. The extension period is one year.
These organizations were established in February 2023 to support the implementation of the national agenda of President Yoon Suk-yeol's administration. The One-Stop Export and Order Support Team has been responsible for supporting individual companies' exports in areas such as trade finance, logistics, and marketing, as well as addressing taxation, budget support, regulatory reform, trade, and diplomatic cooperation issues raised in export fields.
The New Growth Strategy Planning Promotion Team was created to promote the 'New Growth 4.0 Strategy' put forth by the government as its economic policy vision for 2023, while the Tax Reform Promotion Team was established to reform inheritance tax and real estate taxation systems. The National Treasury Subsidy Misuse Management Team has been working to address the 'blind spots in monitoring for ensuring financial soundness' by improving relevant laws and systems.
A Ministry of the Interior and Safety official noted, 'It is a principle that separate organizational structures that have performed certain functions are dismantled and their duties are transferred to regular organizations within each ministry,' while also considering the unique circumstances of the domestic situation experiencing an economic crisis.
Recently, the Trump administration in the U.S. has consecutively announced a protectionist tariff policy, intensifying the global tariff war. President Trump announced additional tariffs of 25% on Mexico and Canada and 10% on China on the 1st, and indicated on the 10th that a 25% tariff would be imposed on all steel imports. On the 13th, it was announced that a 'reciprocal tariff' would be imposed on goods from trading partners equivalent to the tariff rates applied to U.S. products.
The government is making every effort to respond to uncertainties, worrying that the tariff war could shake exports from corporations, preparing measures such as a 'comprehensive interagency emergency export response.' During this process, it is known that the One-Stop Export and Order Support Team has been fulfilling the function of gathering on-site difficulties related to system improvements. The support team plans to focus on supporting corporations affected by U.S. tariff policies this year and assist in tapping new order opportunities in industries like shipbuilding.
The New Growth Strategy Planning Promotion Team, which plays a role in nurturing promising areas that could become the next national strategic industries, is also connected to exports. This year, it plans to hold over 20 meetings of the Academic-Industry Council targeting three game changers, including artificial intelligence (AI), bio, and quantum, as well as key strategic industries such as semiconductors, secondary batteries, and shipbuilding. A government official stated, 'Through the council, we plan to convey the analysis results from the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade regarding the impacts of the Trump administration on each industry and devise measures reflecting on-site difficulties every quarter in ministerial economic meetings.'
While the Tax Reform Promotion Team and the National Treasury Subsidy Misuse Management Team are distanced from trade uncertainties, their policy is to continue to push forward and manage the tasks they have been performing for the past year. The Tax Reform Promotion Team plans to submit a reform plan for the inheritance tax system, centering on the introduction of estate acquisition tax, to the National Assembly during the first half of the year. The National Treasury Subsidy Misuse Management Team is expected to announce the status of the misuse detection from last year and this year's investigation plan around mid-next month.
A Ministry of the Interior and Safety official explained, 'The impact of tax reforms on national economic development is significant, and managing national treasury subsidies plays an important role in overseeing financial executions.'