President Moon Jae-in has highlighted the potential of the domestic battery industry, predicting that the battery market will outgrow that of semiconductors in five years. 

Moon made the forecast in a speech at an event in Pohang on Thursday, where the president proclaimed the southeastern coastal city as an optimal place to foster the battery industry.

The event was arranged for the signing of a 100 billion won deal by the city government, the government of North Gyeongsang Province and GS Engineering and Construction to build a battery recycling plant. 

Moon noted the growing significance of production and maintenance of electric vehicle batteries given the government’s plan to make a third of new cars eco-friendly by 2030. After likening the steel industry to the country’s staple grain rice, he said the battery industry will become the future rice for South Korea. 

The visit to Pohang, his second visit to an industrial site this year following a trip to a port in Gyeonggi Province last Friday, was also meant to promote his administration’s focus on balanced national growth. 

Moon said the Pohang deal shows that regions outside the Seoul metropolitan area can play a leading role in boosting the national economy. He said he is certain that the city will succeed in fostering the battery industry and significantly contribute to enhancing the country’s global competitiveness in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He said it will also provide a definite momentum to jump-start the municipal economy. 

While visiting Pohang, one of the 15 regulation-free special zones across the country, the president also pledged the government’s efforts to speed up deregulation. He said deregulation will also strengthen the innovative potential of regional areas. 

The visit is his third to the city since it suffered from a five-point-four magnitude earthquake in 2017. 

He indicated his constant sorrow the tremor’s lingering impact on the region. Referring to the passage of a special bill late last month designed to provide financial and administrative support for the quake’s victims, he said the bill will speed up the recovery and reconstruction of the city. The president also promised to swiftly put in place other measures to help residents.