Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

As part of his trip to the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region, Minister JK (Jung-Kwan) Kim of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR) visited Star Group Ind. Co., Ltd.—a rare-earth permanent magnet manufacturer—on February 5, 2026, and met with major rare earth companies and support organizations to hear business challenges and discuss public–private cooperation. Ahead of the meeting, MOTIR released a summary of the comprehensive measures for rare earth supply chains, developed by the Industrial Security Supply Chain Task Force since October 2025 and approved by written resolution at the third Resource Security Council on February 4, 2026.

The measures are the first policy initiative of MOTIR’s Office of Industry, Trade and Resource Security, launched in late December 2025. They cover the full rare-earth value chain—from mine development through separation and refining to manufacturing—and are organized around three pillars.

First, to manage short-term supply and demand risks, the government will expand trade cooperation through multiple channels, designate all 17 rare earth elements as critical minerals, and refine supply-and-demand analysis by introducing and further subdividing HSK codes for rare earth imports and exports.

Second, to diversify sources, the government will strengthen project-based resource diplomacy and expand the public sector’s role in sharing investment risks with the private sector. The government will also step up policy financing by increasing the budget for overseas resource development loans from KRW 39.0 billion in 2025 to KRW 67.5 billion in 2026 (up KRW 28.5 billion) and raising the loan coverage ratio from 50 percent to up to 70 percent.

Third, to build domestic rare-earth production capacity, the government will support investment in domestic production facilities, streamline regulations to invigorate the recycling ecosystem, develop an R&D roadmap covering rare-earth substitution, reduction, and recycling, and create a new Rare Earth R&D Fund within the Industrial Technology Innovation Fund. 

At the meeting, participating companies voiced support for the government’s policy direction, shared current supply constraints, and called for sustained government attention and policy support to secure a stable rare earth supply chain and foster related industries.

“Korea has strong capabilities in advanced industries such as semiconductors, electric vehicles, and batteries. But our heavy reliance on imported resources creates structural challenges in managing supply chains,” Minister Kim said. He added that “Korea’s national competitiveness hinges on industrial and resource security, and the public and private sectors must work closely to ensure stable management of rare earth supply chains.” He also said the government will “concentrate its policy efforts on building the foundations across the full rare earth value chain and strengthening industrial resilience against external shocks.”