Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, held a meeting of external economic ministers on the 19th and said, "At the pan-government level, we will kick off post-Middle East external economic policy in earnest." He added, "We will actively pursue free trade agreements (FTAs) with Mongolia, China and Morocco."
In his opening remarks, Deputy Prime Minister Koo said, "We will move to preempt demand for cooperation arising from Middle Eastern countries' reconstruction and economic restructuring, and push policies to respond to supply chain risks reaffirmed by this crisis."
Deputy Prime Minister Koo said, "First, we will identify key projects related to Middle East reconstruction and secure first-mover opportunities." He added, "We will establish an economic security framework that responds preemptively to supply chain crises." He continued, "With country-specific, tailored economic cooperation strategies, we will secure new growth opportunities."
He also said, "We will actively pursue FTAs with Mongolia, China and Morocco." Deputy Prime Minister Koo said, "This is to secure growth engines by combining each region's strengths within the reordering international order with Korea's manufacturing and technological capabilities."
Deputy Prime Minister Koo also chaired a joint meeting of the Emergency Economic Headquarters and the ministers in charge of economic affairs that day. He said, "As the effects of the Middle East war—such as slowing employment, rising prices, and fluctuations in exchange rates and interest rates—are still ongoing, the government will do its utmost to ease the burden on people's livelihoods."
He said, "Based on a thorough analysis of underperforming industries such as manufacturing, construction and agriculture and forestry, and vulnerable groups such as youth, we will sequentially prepare institutional sector-specific response plans, including a tentative 'youth jobs recovery plan,'" adding, "Tasks under the 'youth New Deal promotion plan' will be executed swiftly."