Lee urges creation of 100 trillion won national fund to fuel 'next 20 years' of growth
Published: 30 Jul. 2025, 18:02
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- SARAH KIM
- [email protected]
![President Lee Jae Myung, center, presides over the third meeting of an emergency economic review task force at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on July 30. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/07/30/207b9088-2194-4712-9dbf-7d3c301ec3a7.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, center, presides over the third meeting of an emergency economic review task force at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on July 30. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]
President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday called for the swift creation of a 100 trillion won ($72.3 billion) public-private fund to invest in cutting-edge industries, including AI and renewable energy, in a push for new growth engines.
"We will swiftly establish a national fund worth over 100 trillion won, with participation from both public and businesses, and invest in future strategic industries that will drive growth for the next 20 years," Lee said during the third emergency economic review meeting held at the Yongsan presidential office, calling to revitalize businesses and expand the investment climate.
The forming of such a fund to support high-tech industries was a part of Lee's presidential campaign pledge to enable Korea to become one of the world's top five economies and top three global AI powerhouses.
During the meeting, Lee called to develop strategies for each industry, including "groundbreaking regulatory reforms," to ensure future growth in cutting-edge technology sectors.
"In response to climate change, we must swiftly transform Korea's economic and industrial ecosystem toward a future industry centered on renewable energy and AI-driven advanced technologies," Lee added.
Lee envisions a national fund will draw investments through cooperation from the government and private sectors to grow industries such as AI, semiconductors and biotechnology. The fund is expected to eventually create new growth engines and help develop companies akin to U.S. chip giant Nvidia and Taiwan's TSMC.
Lee stressed that his economic policy is to form a "pragmatic, market-oriented government" that also "supports and encourages corporate activities" and bring about regulatory reforms.
![Kim Yong-beom, presidential chief of staff for policy, speaks at a press briefing at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on July 30. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/07/30/c4510990-c8dd-4b55-9ccc-6ed45bcb4b96.jpg)
Kim Yong-beom, presidential chief of staff for policy, speaks at a press briefing at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on July 30. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
Lee also said he will launch a government task force to seek ways to ease excessive penalties on economic activities, reduce regulatory hurdles and encourage investment.
"It is time to seek institutional improvements to address the abuse of breach of trust laws that stifle corporate activity," Lee said, acknowledging growing concerns in Korea that business executives risk going to jail for business decisions gone wrong, in turn deterring people from domestic investments.
Lee called to ensure that excessive economic crime penalties do not deter vibrant business activities through launching a task force to address such concerns, urging "swift action to rationalize regulations."
This comes as the business community has long demanded for revisions to the stringent breach of trust laws, which penalize those who violate professional duty for personal or third-party gain, resulting in loss to the company.
He promised to work to "eliminate or ease regulations that are outdated, unnecessary or simply administratively convenient" to enable companies more freedom in their activities. Lee called to set clear goals, such as reducing the current economic-related penalties by 30 percent.
Kim Yong-beom, the presidential chief of staff for policy, noted in a briefing Wednesday that economy-related laws often include criminal punishment provisions "as a matter of practice," and "because of this, businesspeople who are sued or face allegations often feel great psychological pressure, which often leads to continued uncertainty for businesses."
Lee launched the emergency economic task force upon taking office last month as his first executive order, and said this body should be transitioned into a growth strategy task force to focus on longer-term challenges.
In recent days, Lee has come down on companies for their alleged negligence leading to industrial accidents and workplace deaths. The government is also pushing to increase the corporate tax rate from the current 24 percent to 25 percent.
During Wednesday's meeting, Lee further called to "fundamentally rethink Korea's growth strategy" while stressing the importance of balanced regional growth, stilted by the concentration of investment and resources in the Seoul metropolitan area due to a "lack of resources and opportunities" in the past.
He said the effects of this approach are "now becoming a serious obstacle to Korea's continued growth."
BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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