New industry minister said Friday he will deliver a range of policy support to help South Korea achieve this year's export target of US$700 billion. "As the minister overseeing exports, I am committed to acting as a catalyst in achieving the goal of annual exports of $700 billion, with exports becoming the driving force of economic growth," Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun said at a port in Pyeongtaek, 54 kilometers south of Seoul. The visit to the port, which handles around a third of South Korea's automobile exports, was his first official schedule since taking the post the previous day. "Last year, South Korea's exports of automobiles reached a new record of $70.9 billion despite the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, leading the country's overall outbound shipments," Ahn said. "This year, we will continue to make efforts to maintain the record-high automobile exports on the back of the demand for eco-friendly cars from North America and Europe," he added. To maintain the export momentum, the new minister s aid his office will continue making efforts to bolster related support in a wide array of areas, including marketing, finance and certification. South Korea's exports stood at $632.6 billion last year, down 7.4 percent from a year earlier amid global economic uncertainties. For December, however, monthly exports advanced 5.1 percent on-year to $57.6 billion, rising for the third consecutive month. Source: Yonhap News Agency