Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Discusses Strengthening Industrial Security with Machinery, Battery, and Automotive Sectors

Amid the rapidly changing global security landscape, the government has discussed measures to strengthen industrial security with the domestic machinery, battery, and automotive industries.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it held the 2nd "Public-Private Industrial Security Dialogue" today (June 16) at the Trade Security Management Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, with major domestic companies and relevant associations from the machinery, battery, and automotive sectors.

The Ministry shared current industrial security issues with the companies, including recent export controls on dual-use (civilian and military) items by major countries, the strengthening of management for rare earths and core minerals, and agenda items from international export control regimes.

As global competition for high-tech supremacy intensifies and the use of civilian technology for military purposes accelerates, major countries are increasingly strengthening controls on core manufacturing sectors to protect their national security.

Accordingly, the Ministry explained that South Korea's key manufacturing sectors, such as machinery, batteries, and automobiles, are being exposed to industrial security risks across their overall business activities, including the expansion of export markets and the supply and demand of raw materials.

The Ministry also conducted individual meetings with companies to identify potential risks for each sector and provide customized support.

As advanced machine tools that can be used for military purposes are subject to international export controls, the Ministry shared obligations imposed during exports with machinery companies and listened to their opinions on institutional improvements.

Furthermore, the Ministry discussed the need for supply chain diversification with the battery industry to ensure a stable supply of core minerals, which are raw materials for cathode and anode materials.

For the automotive industry, which can be exposed to a wide range of supply chain crises from rare earths and minerals to automotive semiconductors, the government and companies agreed to cooperate closely to respond to these challenges.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.