Ministry of Strategy and Finance holds The 9th Korea-Japan Finance Dialogue, and explore ways to improve competitiveness in strategic industries

Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok held the 9th Korea-Japan Finance Ministers' Meeting with Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki at Seoul Government Complex on June 25. At this meeting, which was held for the second year in a row since last year, previously agreed upon cooperation agendas were reviewed based on the friendly relationship between the two countries. Choi emphasized 血 joint policy response to common problems between the two countries, 行 joint economic prosperity, and 衣 joint cooperation on international agendas. While they assessed the global economy to be on a modest recovery path, they acknowledged that there are still uncertainties in the global economy, including continued geopolitical conflicts, potentially slower growth in major trading partners, and increased volatility in foreign exchange markets. They agreed that the Korea-Japan currency swap, which resumed last year, strengthens the financial safety of both countries, and agreed to continue discussing ways to improve it in the future. They also expected that the signing of the Letter of Intent for Cooperation (MOI) between the Institute of Public Finance and the Ministry of Finance's Policy Research Institute (PRI) on June 20 would promote research cooperation in resolving structural problems common to both countries, such as fiscal soundness and local extinction. To mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan next year, the two ministers agreed to further strengthen communication and cooperation between financial authorities, and decided to hold the 10th Korea-Japan Finance Ministers' Meeting in Japan in 2025.

Ministry of Strategy and Finance explore ways to improve competitiveness in strategic industries

Choi visited the HD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Future Technology Institute on June 4th and Kia AutoLand Gwangmyeong on June 21st to examine the high-tech and strategic industry ecosystem and listen to voices from the field. Korea's ship orders amounted to $18.9 billion from January to May of this year, a significant increase (+35.9%) compared to the same period last year, and exports have also continued to show a positive record for 10 consecutive months since August 2023. The Korean shipbuilding industry is expected to continue to see strong international orders for a considerable period of time and accelerate its transition to eco-friendliness. The electric vehicle industry is showing strong exports thanks to the expansion of the global market, but the domestic market is slowing down, recording a negative growth rate since last year due to the Chasm phenomenon.