South Korea's industry ministry said Thursday it plans to raise 200 billion won (US$179 million) this year to nurture eco-friendly automobiles and other state-of-the-art technologies, in line with the country's New Deal drive announced last year, Yonhap reported. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it has clinched a memorandum of understanding with a slew of industrial and financial partners, including Hyundai Motor Group. Of the fund, the government plans to chip in 50 billion won, followed by Hyundai and the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology with 30 billion won each. The Industrial Bank of Korea plans to allocate 10 billion won as well. The cash will be spent on developing materials and parts for future cars, along with autopilot technologies. It will also be used to build more infrastructure for eco-friendly automobiles, including charging stations for electric and hydrogen fuel cell cars. South Korea earlier said it will invest 160 trillion won by 2025 under the New Deal drive that will create 1.9 million jobs and kick-start the coronavirus-hit economy. In 2021 alone, the country plans to raise 21.3 trillion won, which is expected to help generate 360,000 jobs.
