Posted on 20 Apr 2020
The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and five industry associations had a meeting on April 16 to discuss how to deal with the repercussions of COVID-19.
“Automakers and auto parts manufacturers are in need of a liquidity supply of at least 33 trillion won,” the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association said, adding, “Also necessary is indirect liquidity supply in the form of postponement of taxation and so on.” The association also mentioned that the ongoing difficulties in the industry are affecting many related sectors such as the steel industry. For the first 10 days of this month, South Korea’s steel product exports showed a year-on-year decrease of 15 percent.
The Korea Offshore & Shipbuilding Association said that Q1 global ship orders dropped 71.3 percent from a year earlier due to the pandemic and financial support is urgently needed in the industry. Oil refining and petrochemical companies requested tariff reduction in relation to the NAFTA and the five associations called for deregulation on the labor and environment sides.
“Major manufacturers and key industries have propped up the South Korean economy during past crises,” the KCCI remarked, adding that they need to prepare for the worst-case scenario so that the pandemic cannot undermine their competitiveness. The KCCI is planning to hold similar meetings with the IT industry and the consumer goods industry on April 21 and 23, respectively.
Source:Business Korea
