Korea has decided to provide additional policy bank bonds of 3 trillion won ($2.03 billion) to support the country’s automotive industry amid the US tariffs posing grave dangers, the government said Wednesday.

According to the government’s announcement, extra financial support for Korean automakers will be added to the original support measure of 13 trillion won. The government said it would consider expanding the aid package depending on the bond usage rate and company demand.

The government also said it will run a 1 trillion won support program to lend funding to small- to mid-sized partners of Hyundai Motor and Kia, the nation's top two carmakers, which will be hit hard by the 25 percent US auto tariffs on imported vehicles.

For companies damaged by tariffs, the government will allow a deadline extension of up to nine months to pay taxes, including corporate and income tax. The government will also quickly review the request of a tariff-hit firm to delay a tax investigation.

The government will offer export vouchers worth 240 billion won to impacted companies so they can countermeasure levy-caused damages, move production sites and explore alternative markets.

To help auto parts suppliers, Korea plans to secure space on ships and expand the number of the country’s shared logistics centers in North America to 50 from the current 45. The new logistics centers will be using local firms’ facilities in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Silicon Valley and Washington.

As the Trump administration’s auto tariffs are expected to deal a blow to Korea’s at-home auto production, the government decided to strengthen incentives for domestic customers. The period of the extra subsidies given in proportion to the automaker’s discount prices will be extended to December this year from the earlier plan’s June deadline. The rate of subsidies will also be increased.

The government set a goal to designate autonomous driving technology as a national strategic technology so that companies investing in that field and doing research and development on that end can receive more tax credits. The government plans to draft a roadmap for the country’s autonomous driving technology in the first half of this year, targeting 2027 to commercialize level 4 autonomous driving vehicles.

By Kan Hyeong-woo (hwkan@heraldcorp.com)