Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook vowed Friday to make all-out efforts to ensure stable supply chains for key industrial-use materials and to nurture next-generation sectors.

Minister of Trade Industry and Energy Moon Sung-wook

He made the pledge in his message for the new year, saying the government will work further to make concrete steps that prevent any recurrences of the recent urea crisis.

Korea experienced a shortage of urea solution, an essential fluid used in diesel vehicles to cut emissions, after China imposed export curbs on urea in October to ease domestic supply bottlenecks.

"The government will set up hotlines with importers of major items to better check their supplies and to swiftly respond to any issues," Moon said.

"We will also strive to diversify import channels of key materials and to increase their stockpiles...to manage the supply chains in a systematic manner and to achieve our economic security," he added.

South Korea heavily relies on China and a handful of other countries, including the United States, Japan and Germany, for imports of key industrial-use materials.

The minister also stressed the government's commitment to nurturing high-tech industries, such as semiconductors, batteries and bio, by expanding investment and easing regulations.

The focus of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy next year will also be on detailed steps to achieve the country's zero-emission goals and to extend support for exporters.

The country's yearly exports hit an all-time high of more than US$640 billion this year on the back of robust demand for chips, ships and autos.

"The government will work more closely with foreign countries to create more opportunities for our companies to advance into global markets," Moon said, while vowing to actively participate in various multilateral dialogue platforms that contribute to decent global trade norms. (Yonhap)