The government has decided to establish a large-scale fund of over 30 trillion won to support advanced industries such as batteries and biotechnology. This initiative is expected to alleviate funding difficulties for electric vehicle battery companies, which have been underperforming due to a temporary stagnation in electric vehicle demand and the announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump to abolish mandatory electric vehicle policies.
Choi Sang-mok, acting president, deputy prime minister, and minister of strategy and finance, announced at a meeting held at the Government Complex Seoul that a so-called “Advanced Strategic Industry Fund” will be set up at the Industrial Bank of Korea to support advanced industries and technologies such as batteries and biotechnology. The fund will be created at a scale more than twice the 17 trillion won allocated for the semiconductor financial support program, and will adopt various support methods such as low-interest loans and equity investments. The government plans to prepare detailed measures for establishing the fund promptly and will discuss related legal amendments with the National Assembly by March. The exact size of the fund is yet to be determined, but it is expected to be at least 34 trillion won.
Additionally, Acting President Choi emphasized a stronger push for securing competitiveness in artificial intelligence (AI) and mentioned speeding up the operation procedures for the national AI computing center. The government plans to quickly hold a “National AI Committee” meeting within the month to discuss detailed strategies for advancing into the top three global AI powers. He also stressed that efforts to strengthen industrial competitiveness require the cooperation of the National Assembly and urged the swift processing of industry-related legislation such as the Semiconductor Special Act and energy-related laws.