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South Korean President Moon Jae-in announces his vision for a manufacturing industry renaissance at the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Center in Ansan

South Korean President Moon Jae-in pledged to support a manufacturing industry renaissance on June 19 with the creation of a new joint government/private sector manufacturing industry renaissance strategy council, which he is to preside over.

Declaring manufacturing to be the “foundation of innovation growth,” he also promised to “usher in an era of ranking among the top four manufacturing powers with a national income of US$40,000 by 2030.”

On June 19, Moon attended a proclamation ceremony for the manufacturing industry renaissance vision at the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Center in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.

“Manufacturing is the backbone of our economy and remains at the center of the economy during the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” he said.

“If a country loses its manufacturing capacity, it also loses its innovation capacity,” he added.

To promote a manufacturing industry renaissance, Moon laid out a four-point strategy involving the acceleration of manufacturing industry innovation through smart technology, convergence, and complexation; fostering new industries for the future; shifting the industry ecosystem; and producing large-scale support for domestic investment.

In order to create domestic jobs, the government would be “providing maximum support to businesses that return to South Korea to create jobs or that increase their number of domestic factories rather than relocating overseas,” he said, adding that “tax incentives will be greatly expanded for high technology and new industry areas and for local investment in crisis-stricken and underdeveloped regions.” He also said the government would be investing 8.4 trillion won (US$7.21 billion) through 2030 in new industries such as system semiconductors, bio health, and future automobiles, while providing up to 12.5 trillion won (US$10.73 billion) in policy funds for small and medium-sized businesses involved in innovation.

In particular, he announced plans to establish a “joint government-private manufacturing industry renaissance strategy council so that manufacturing industry innovation can achieve sustained momentum.” He went on to say the council would “discuss company concerns involving things like production costs, labor-management issues, and environmental regulations, and may also work to resolve difficulties related to the adoption of new systems concerning increased industry safety and the 52-hour workweek limit.”

By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter

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