Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, on the 3rd held a meeting of the Emergency Economic Headquarters and the Ministers' Meeting on the Economy and said, "We will select growth engines that leverage the characteristics and potential of each of the five hubs and three special zones, and provide comprehensive support through seven packages covering fiscal policy, finance, taxation, regulation, and talent," adding, "We will select the optimal growth engines and announce them soon."
In his opening remarks, Deputy Prime Minister Koo said, "The key to taking the lead in the all-out global national competition for a super gap lies not in the saturated capital area but in the regions." He added, "We will select the optimal growth engines after gathering regional government demand and opinions from corporations, and announce them soon." The five hubs and three special zones growth engines policy is a regional balanced growth initiative that selects future strategic industries for each mega-region and special self-governing zone and concentrates pan-government support.
At the meeting, officials also discussed emergency support measures for small and midsize companies struggling with the weak won and other factors. Deputy Prime Minister Koo said, "We will provide a total of 1.49 trillion won in emergency operating funds to small and midsize companies whose management burden is growing due to the weak won and other issues." He said, "We will create a dedicated track within Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME)'s 'Emergency Management Stabilization Fund,' and supply additional funds when the initial allocation is exhausted."
He continued, "We will expand the Export-Import Bank's 'Special Program for Crisis Response' support from 7 trillion won to 8 trillion won, and establish ultra-low interest loans for small and midsize companies facing management difficulties," adding, "For Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC)'s 'Emergency Management Stabilization Guarantee,' we will raise the guarantee ratio and further reduce the guarantee fee rate."
In addition, the meeting discussed the third basic plan for personal information protection to enable data use and protect personal information in the AI era. The government plans to build hubs for the use of pseudonymous and anonymous information at regional bases and establish a system that provides one-stop support from reporting to compensation in the event of a personal information leak. It also decided to hold the "2026 Korea Grand Festival" from Oct. 29 to Nov. 15.