Kim Jeong-gwan, Minister of Industry Candidate: "Developing Practical Trade Policies Based on Maximizing National Interest"

[Financial News] "Regarding U.S. tariff measures, we will develop practical trade policies based on maximizing national interest and support sustainable growth of the industry by proactively responding to the era of artificial intelligence (AI) and energy revolution."
 Candidate Kim Jeong-gwan stated in his opening remarks at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee on the 17th, "Due to U.S. tariff measures and the spread of protectionism, the free trade system and international norms that have driven our exports are not functioning properly," he said.
 Candidate Kim said, "We will expand the global cooperation network through trade agreements and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit," adding, "We will comprehensively innovate the trade structure by pioneering new export markets and items and significantly expanding export infrastructure such as finance and marketing to prepare for the era of 1 trillion dollars in exports."
 Along with this, he announced, "We will support sustainable growth of the industry by proactively responding to the era of AI and energy revolution." He explained, "We will fundamentally increase industrial productivity and added value by extensively integrating and utilizing AI in the industrial field and widely spreading it to medium-sized and small enterprises," adding, "We will reform the R&D and commercialization system from a corporate perspective and develop next-generation technologies such as AI semiconductors and humanoids to strengthen the foundation for future innovation."
 In addition, he added that they will secure super-gap competitiveness in core industries such as semiconductors and future cars, and prepare for a leap forward by quickly restructuring industries with oversupply such as petrochemicals and steel and converting to high-value products.
 Candidate Kim emphasized the importance of strengthening energy security and achieving carbon neutrality, also expressing his intention to expand renewable energy and promote nuclear power in parallel.
 He said, "We will significantly expand renewable energy by improving location, power grid, and market systems," adding, "We will steadily promote nuclear power, which is important from an industrial perspective for energy price stabilization, carbon neutrality achievement, and global exports, based on safety and acceptability."
 He also stated that they will innovate the power infrastructure and systems such as energy highways to enhance the flexibility and efficiency of the power market and resolve power imbalances between regions.
 Candidate Kim promised, "We will establish an energy price system that supports the stability of people's lives and industrial competitiveness, and provide more robust energy welfare for climate-sensitive groups," adding, "We will thoroughly manage the power supply issue this summer so that the public does not worry."
 He pledged, "We will restore the regional economic ecosystem to provide fair growth opportunities to regions," adding, "We will promote local investment by companies through the creation of RE100 industrial complexes, bold regulatory innovation, and incentives, and achieve practical results in fostering regional industries and creating jobs by expanding settlement conditions such as education and medical care through inter-departmental cooperation."
leeyb@fnnews.com Lee Yu-beom Reporter