Democratic Party lawmaker Song Young-gil introduced a bill to promote the used-car export industry on Monday, his first legislative proposal since returning to the National Assembly. The bill aims to secure a new growth engine for the export market by establishing comprehensive support measures, ranging from the creation of a master plan to the designation of export support special zones.
Co-sponsors of the bill include lawmakers from the People Power Party and the Rebuilding Korea Party, in addition to Democratic Party members. Song's side described it as "the fruit of pragmatic politics that transcends partisan lines."
The core of the enactment is to elevate the domestic used-car export industry to a national strategic industry. The sector has struggled with quality control and shipping cost burdens due to the absence of systematic government support and its small-scale industrial structure. The bill also seeks to build a comprehensive legal and institutional support framework.
Specifically, the bill includes provisions to make the establishment and implementation of a master plan mandatory every five years, to designate used-car export support special zones, to build and operate an "Integrated Used-Car Export System" and pursue support projects to develop overseas markets, and to establish and operate guarantee, insurance, and financial support systems for small export businesses.
"Korea's used-car export sector is a blue-ocean market with unlimited growth potential going forward, as demand explodes centered on developing countries. However, it has been neglected and faced great difficulty in securing international competitiveness," Song said. "This bill is a livelihood bill that seeks to fundamentally overhaul the structure of our used-car export industry, contributing to national economic development and the creation of jobs for young people."
