Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

Minister JK (Jung-Kwan) Kim of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR) visited Kolmar Korea, a cosmetics manufacturer selected as the first company under Korea’s 2026 reshoring program, on April 27, 2026. Minister Kim also held an on-site roundtable with reshoring companies and discussed ways to improve Korea’s reshoring support policy.

Since the enactment of the Act on Assistance to Korean Off-Shore Enterprises in Repatriation (the Reshoring Act), Korea’s reshoring policy has helped generate around KRW 7 trillion in investment and 8,000 jobs between 2014 and 2025. However, calls have grown for policy reform as new reshoring cases have slowed, with Korea’s reshoring framework not yet fully reflecting rapid changes in the global investment environment, including stronger protectionism and supply chain realignment. In particular, as major economies compete to attract investment to anchor advanced industries and critical supply chains domestically, Korea now needs to redesign its reshoring policy not simply to support the relocation of overseas operations, but to secure core industrial capabilities at home.

Companies attending the roundtable also called for stronger government support for corporate investment amid global supply chain uncertainty and accelerating AI transformation. In particular, they noted that eligibility for reshoring support remains too narrow, as companies must produce the same or similar products or services at their overseas and returning domestic operations. As a result, businesses may have difficulty qualifying for support when shifting to different products, such as from auto parts to energy storage system components, or when investing in domestic R&D facilities instead of manufacturing operations.

Participants also said the current maintenance requirement limits companies’ flexibility in operating their business sites. Under the rule, companies must maintain an existing domestic business site for three years. They added that employment requirements should also be made more flexible to reflect growing automation trends.

In response, MOTIR said it is preparing improvements to Korea’s reshoring policy centered on three areas: expanding eligibility and refining detailed requirements; diversifying subsidy programs based on the nature of each reshoring project, including regional investment, large-scale investment and investment in strategic advanced sectors; and helping attract strategic investment while providing closer support for implementation. MOTIR will finalize and announce the measures after gathering industry feedback and consulting relevant ministries.

Minister Kim thanked companies for their reshoring investments, saying, “We are now in an era in which the competitiveness of both companies and countries depends on secure and stable supply chains. The government will provide full support so that reshoring and regional investment become the most rational and attractive choice.”