The Ministry of Knowledge Economy reported to the President Friday (Dec. 26) that it aims to achieve exports of US$450 billion and a trade surplus of over $10 billion in 2009.

At a policy briefing held at Cheong Wa Dae, the Knowledge Economy Ministry, the Small and Medium Business Administration, and the Korea Communications Commission announced their plans for next year before the President, followed by intensive discussions among senior officials.

The Knowledge Economy Ministry set out an "Energy New Deal" plan that will induce gigantic investments of 19.5 trillion won from the government and private corporations for the development of information technology. The New Deal was a series of economic programs initiated by former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to save the severely hit U.S. economy during the 1930s.

According to the Energy New Deal scheme, 1.3 trillion won from the government, 3.9 trillion won from the private sector, and 14.3 trillion won from state-owned energy corporations will be injected in 2009 to further develop new technologies, such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) and ubiquitous sensor network (USN), to renovate the IT infrastructure of SMEs and distribute LED lighting devices nationwide.

To achieve the goals of exports and trade surplus next year, the ministry will not only proactively support export financing and overseas marketing, but also implement well-planned strategies to help Korean exporters advance into different nations and regions.

With the stronger yen in mind, the ministry plans to actively participate in the contracting out processes of Japan''s parts industry and advance into its consumer goods market. It also plans to help Korean enterprises take part in various economic recovery programs in the United States and the EU, and take advantage of free trade agreements in the regions. China''s gigantic consumer demand will be utilized as well.

The ministry said it will create a total of 30,000 new jobs next year in the sectors of recycling, the construction of infrastructure facilities, and software development. It has also allocated 42.6 billion won to support local SMEs with vocational training. The labor-management-government cooperation is expected to strengthen workers'' job security and industrial expertise.

Source :  Ministry of Knowledge Economy