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The government is pushing to establish a 3 trillion won "Industrial Resources Security Fund" to address vulnerabilities in the nation's energy and resource supply chains exposed by the war in the Middle East. The plan is to secure funding through a separate fund to stably advance core resource-security projects such as expanding crude oil reserve facilities and upgrading refining equipment.
According to the Democratic Party of Korea on the 7th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy recently reported this plan to establish the Industrial Resources Security Fund to the Democratic Party and requested related legislation. A Democratic Party official explained, "The Industry Ministry proposed establishing a separate fund so that it can stably pursue long-term resource-security projects."
Through the fund, the Industry Ministry plans to expand crude oil reserve facilities and support refiners in converting equipment for light-oil production and improving facilities to expand the share of heavy and extra-heavy crude processing. The aim is to strengthen the capacity to respond to energy supply chains in preparation for geopolitical risks such as conflicts in the Middle East. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan previously stated that "we are preparing measures to pursue a mid- to long-term resource-security strategy beyond the limits of a single-year budget."
The fund's resources will be secured by reorganizing resource-security-related budgets scattered across the Special Account for Energy, the Climate Response Fund, and the Electric Power Industry Foundation Fund. The government is pushing to create the roughly 3 trillion won Industrial Resources Security Fund by adjusting the revenues and expenditures of existing special accounts and funds totaling 12 trillion won. However, the government explained that "the size of the fund has not yet been finalized."
The Democratic Party plans to push for an amendment to the Special Act on Resource Security to establish a legal basis for creating the Industrial Resources Security Fund.
