South Korean Government Assures Investing on Engineering

On Wednesday, the South Korean government announced a set of measures in order to bolster the local engineering industry that involves expanding monetary support for firms engaged in research and development, most particularly with foreign companies and institutions.

A report from the Korea JoongAng Daily mentions that the government will raise export credit guarantees for engineering firms from the present 90 billion won ($80 million) to 150 billion won beginning next year to increase exports. The government plans to implement this with the help of local banks.

South Korea's Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Strategy and Finance, Yoo Il Ho said, "The Korean economy faces various challenges due to the possible interest rate hike in the United States, ongoing corporate restructuring and weakened exports followed by the Galaxy Note7 case and Hyundai Motor labor union strike. We will now focus on helping the engineering sector become more competitive by giving them various benefits and helping them train more experts."

Every year, the government will choose about 30 students to receive full-ride scholarships to study at universities in the United States and the United Kingdom and increase the number of spots in its overseas internship program. One of the other methods is the addition of educational programs from training institutions such as the French Institute of Petroleum and PetroSkills in the United States in teaching Korean students.

The government also vowed that it would have more small-size firms to take part in various projects of the government and mentioned that it is a good opportunity to improve credibility to sign on to new projects in the future.

Toh Kyung Hwan, the Deputy Trade Minister said, "Engineering is the most fundamental and basic sector of the entire industry. We will do our best to have the engineering sector improve its competitiveness in the global market."