Industry minister nominee vows utmost efforts to support exports amid trade uncertainties

Industry Minister nominee Kim Jung-kwan said Monday he will put in “utmost” efforts to safeguard “national interests” in South Korea’s tariff negotiations with the United States and support Korean companies’ exports amid global trade uncertainties.

“I want to be at the forefront of South Korea’s exports … and help the country overcome difficult times and turn a crisis into an opportunity,” Kim told reporters as he headed to his office for parliamentary confirmation hearing preparations.

With regard to the anticipated trade negotiations with the U.S. Donald Trump administration, Kim said he will work with Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo to secure a tariff agreement based on “national interests,” noting he understands the difficulties Korean companies face in the global market.

Kim was serving as a president in charge of marketing at Doosan Enerbility Co., a major Korean power equipment builder, before he was tapped as the Lee Jae Myung administration’s first industry minister.

Under his leadership, Doosan Enerbility has strengthened its presence in the global nuclear energy market, contributing to the successful bid for the Dukovany nuclear power plant project in the Czech Republic.

On Lee’s campaign pledge to establish a new ministry in charge of climate and energy policies, the nominee said “industry and energy are inseparable.”

“In the era of artificial intelligence, if the brain is semiconductors and data centers, the heart is energy. Just as the brain and the heart cannot function separately, I will do my utmost to ensure that industry, trade and energy sectors work together in an organic and coordinated manner,” he said.

During his presidential election campaign, Lee had vowed to create a new ministry incorporating the industry ministry’s responsibility in creating and implementing energy-related policies and the environment ministry’s role in establishing policies to tackle climate change.