Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Trade Minister holds investment declaration ceremony in N.Y.

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong received the investment declaration submitted by UPS Vice President of State Government & Public Affairs at UPS Axel Carrión on September 11 (local time) in New York City for upgrading the cargo terminal logistics system at Incheon International Airport. date2024-09-12

Advanced materials and logistics companies pledge $83.6 mln investments in Korea

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced on September 11 that United Parcel Service (UPS), Toray Advanced Materials Korea, and a semiconductor specialty gas manufacturer (“Company A”) submitted investment declarations worth approximately USD 83.6 million (KRW 112 billion) during Trade Minister Inkyo Cheong’s visit to the U.S. The world’s largest package delivery service company UPS currently operates a logistics business in Korea centering around its air express hub at Incheon International Airport (ICN). The multinational shipping company has pledged investment to advance its freight handling system at ICN, which is viewed to strengthen Korea’s logistics industry competitiveness through expedited services. Alongside the UPS' investment declaration, two other companies pledged investment during the trade chief's visit to the U.S. Toray Advanced Materials Korea, a global supplier of advanced material solutions, plans to expand facilities for producing polyester film, an advanced material used in the manufacturing process for displays and multilayer ceramic condensers (MLCCs). Meanwhile, Company A, producer of specialty gases used in the etching and cleaning process for manufacturing semiconductors, plans to expand facilities for producing specialty gases used for leading-edge chip manufacturing. These investments are expected to not only expand the advanced materials production base in Korea but also help stabilize the domestic chip industrial supply chain. On the heels of the investment declaration ceremony, Trade Minister Cheong attended the Investors Roundtable and discussed global industry trends as well as plans and issues concerning investments in Korea with representatives of DuPont, UPS, Emp Belstar, Factorial Energy, and Morgan Stanley.   MOTIE will be assigning ministry officials to take exclusive charge of each project for the swift and smooth facilitation of the declared investments and take steps to attract new foreign direct investment (FDI) in advanced industry sectors like semiconductors, secondary batteries, bio, and electric vehicles (EVs) to spur the economy and attain this year’s FDI target of $35 billion. date2024-09-12

Trade Minister meets U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong held talks with U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves on September 10 in Washington D.C. on bilateral trade issues such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). date2024-09-11

Trade Minister Cheong holds talks with U.S. Representative Young Kim

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met U.S. Representative Young Kim on September 10 in Washington D.C. and discussed Korea-U.S. trade issues. date2024-09-11

Trade Minister holds talks with former U.S. Representatives

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong held talks with former U.S. Representatives Ron Kind, Jim Davis, and Tom Davis (videoconference) on September 10 in Washington D.C. and discussed Korea-U.S. trade issues. date2024-09-11

Korea-U.S. Economic Security Conference 2024

Korea’s Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong attended the Korea-U.S. Economic Security Conference 2024 on September 10 in Washington D.C. alongside U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Estevez, where he gave a keynote speech to roughly 40 government officials, researchers, and industry experts of both countries. date2024-09-11

Korea-U.S. Economic Security Conference 2024 seeks to boost public-private cooperation on security agendas

Korea’s Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong attended the Korea-U.S. Economic Security Conference 2024 on September 10 in Washington D.C. alongside U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Estevez. Now in its third year, the Korea-U.S. Economic Security Conference 2024 is an event hosted by the Korea Strategic Trade Institute (KOSTI) and sponsored by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) where Korea and U.S.’ public-private experts gather to seek opportunities for joint response to changes across the global economic security environment and discuss measures for wider cooperation. Attending this year’s bilateral Economic Security Conference were policy authorities from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and Department of State (DOS), as well as relevant experts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Samsung Electronics, and the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). Participants exchanged views on the latest economic security issues such as export controls, financial sanctions, foreign investment review, technology protection, supply chains, and their implications. They also discussed joint projects in Korea-U.S. economic security cooperation. On the margins of the event, KOSTI and the Middlebury Institute's James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperation on economic security related joint research and exchanges going forward. CNS is a world-renowned nongovernmental organization in the U.S. committed to research on nonproliferation and export control developments. In his keynote speech, Trade Minister Cheong articulated plans to upgrade the trade, investment, and technology security system for a more seamless protection over Korea’s strategic assets, while also increasing joint efforts with the U.S. based on their shared core values with regard to supply chains, advanced technology cooperation, and other economic security agendas.   date2024-09-11

Trade Minister Cheong visits Washington D.C. and N.Y. to enhance Korea-U.S. trade cooperation

Korea’s Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong is visiting Washington D.C. and New York City from September 10–12 to meet with various key figures of the Biden administration, U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), think tanks, and political and financial circles. The objective of this visit leading up to the U.S. presidential elections is to discuss measures for maintaining the solid Korea-U.S. trade, economic, and industrial cooperation going forward. The trade chief plans to request continued interest and support towards Korean businesses to minimize uncertainties for those currently exporting to and investing in the U.S. market. During his visit, Trade Minister Cheong will also attend major events such as the Korea-U.S. Economic Security Conference (September 10), Investors Roundtable (September 11), and the Korea-U.S. Economic Cooperation Seminar (September 12) to gather opinions from experts and business leaders to establish a network favorable to Korea across political, financial, and academic circles. The trade minister expressed anticipation that the outreach will help build the foundation for further advancing the Korea-U.S. economic and trade cooperation, stating that regardless of the volatility and uncertainties arising for the time being from coming elections, the two countries’ firmly rooted bilateral ties will remain strong.   date2024-09-10

Korea and Mongolia launch 3rd official negotiating round for bilateral EPA

Korea’s Director General for FTA Negotiations Peob-min Ryu is leading the government delegation in the third round of official negotiations for the Korea-Mongolia Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) through September 10–13 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The Mongolian delegation is headed by State Secretary for the Ministry of Economy and Development Batkhuu Idesh. In this third negotiating round, the two delegations are activating a total of 17 working groups, aiming to move the negotiations forward in areas including goods, rules of origin, services, investment, digital, finance, government procurement, and intellectual property. They also seek to delve into more detailed discussions on their respective goods and areas of interest regarding the opening of markets. Moreover, in areas recently seeing active bilateral exchanges like minerals and environment, both sides plan to establish grounds for cooperation in their bilateral EPA to strengthen coordination in supply chain stabilization and climate change response. Highlighting that Mongolia is a resource-rich, promising new market and an important economic partner for Korea’s export channel diversification and supply chain stabilization, Director General Ryu said the ministry will strive to ensure the Korea-Mongolia EPA serves not only as a means for expanding bilateral trade in the traditional sense of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), but also as an institutional foundation that broadens and enriches the two countries’ economic cooperation across a wide range of areas going forward.   date2024-09-10

Korea and EU step up negotiations for bilateral Digital Trade Agreement

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced today the launching of the fifth official negotiating round for the Korea-EU Digital Trade Agreement (DTA) through September 10–12 in Brussels, Belgium, led by both sides’ government delegations. The need to upgrade the Korea-EU digital trade rules was raised as the existing Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) fails to sufficiently address changes in the trade landscape with regard to digital trade expansion and other issues in data and cybersecurity. With the shared vision for establishing a high-level digital trade agreement based on the Korea-EU Digital Trade Principles (signed in November 2022), the two sides have held four negotiating rounds since their joint declaration to commence bilateral digital trade negotiations last October. Through this fifth official negotiating round, the Korean and EU delegations will continue discussions on digital trade facilitation and other relevant areas such as corporate and consumer trust, and seek measures to move the negotiations forward. The Korea-EU DTA is anticipated to bolster Korea’s digital trade network with the EU, thereby nurturing a reliable, open, and fair digital trade environment for both sides’ businesses and consumers, while also invigorating bilateral digital trade.   date2024-09-10