Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said on the 19th, "When I hear that China is trying to catch up with Korea's semiconductor industry, as a vice minister in charge of the institutional sector of the economy, it gives me goosebumps and chills."
Deputy Prime Minister Koo said at a briefing with reporters covering the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF), held at the government complex in Sejong on the afternoon of the 19th, "The collapse of the global value chain is becoming serious, and China's catch-up speed is also very fast," and "We must concentrate our capabilities and policy efforts so that Korea can become the core of the global value chain."
Koo also said investment in the United States should be approached with the goal of preempting the global value chain. He said, "Investing $150 billion in the U.S. shipbuilding industry is a proactive strategy to build the world's best shipbuilding industry that China cannot catch up with, in solidarity with the United States," and emphasized, "We should invest with the concept of cementing Korea's position as 'the best' in the shipbuilding global value chain."
Regarding the $200 billion investment, he added, "The United States' areas of interest are semiconductors, energy, bio, AI, and quantum," and "We should take the initiative to propose projects and, together with the United States, preempt the global value chain of future new growth engines."
Koo said, "In the great AI transition, there is no country as prepared as Korea," adding, "There is just one country that is worrisome, and to outpace that country, solidarity with the United States may be more effective. With that perspective, we will focus our growth strategy and put it into practice."