Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Trade Minister meets UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea met UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi on October 24 in Brazil for bilateral talks on continued cooperation for Korea-UAE CEPA ratification and entry into force on margins of the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting. date2024-10-25

Trade Minister meets U.S. Trade Representative

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea held bilateral talks with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on October 24 in Brazil on Korea-U.S. trade issues on margins of the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting. date2024-10-25

Trade Minister meets Japan’s Vice Minister for International Affairs

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea held bilateral talks with Japan’s Vice Minister for International Affairs Matsuo Takehiko at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on October 24 in Brazil on the WTO reform and supply chain and decarbonization cooperation on the margins of the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting. date2024-10-25

Trade Minister Cheong attends G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea attended the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting on October 24 in Brasília, Brazil, where he highlighted the importance of a WTO-centered multilateral trade system and asked members’ support and interest towards the reform of the WTO dispute settlement system. date2024-10-25

Trade Minister meets Brazil's Vice Minister of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea held bilateral talks with Brazil's Vice Minister of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services Márcio Rosa on October 23 in Brazil on measures for wider bilateral cooperation on the margins of the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting. date2024-10-24

Toray Industries’ advanced materials production plant groundbreaking ceremony

Korea's Director-General for Cross-Border Investment Policy Peob-min Ryu attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Japanese company Toray Industries’ advanced materials production plant on October 23 in Gumi City, North Gyeongsang Province. The ceremony was attended by representatives of related companies, government officials, and institutions including the North Gyeongsang Province Governor and Toray Industries Chairman Akihiro Nikkaku. date2024-10-24

Trade Minister Cheong discusses sustainable development of global trade and investment at G20 Trade Ministerial

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea is attending the G20 Trade Ministerial on October 24 in Brasília, Brazil, as Chief Delegate of the Korean government. Under the slogan “Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet,” trade ministers engage in discussions on four agenda items: World Trade Organization (WTO) reform and a stronger multilateral trade system; global trade and women; trade and sustainable development; and investment treaties and sustainable development. During the first session, Trade Minister Cheong highlights the importance of the WTO-centered multilateral trade system, calling for members’ interest and support towards reforming the WTO dispute settlement system. Introducing Korea’s policy efforts such as the global acceleration program for empowering female entrepreneurs and promoting their wider global trade participation, he emphasizes the importance of inclusive economic growth. In the second session, he underscores the need to balance trade and sustainable development and urged the G20 members’ support for the Carbon Free Energy (CFE) Initiative led by Korea. Furthermore, he maintains that the WTO’s Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement will contribute to the sustainable development of developing countries, for which he stresses the need for its swift legal incorporation into the WTO structure. The trade chief will also have bilateral talks with counterparts of other G20 members to discuss pending trade issues. On October 25, he takes part in the B20 Trade Ministerial in São Paolo where he introduces Korea’s trade policy directions and preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2025. On the margins of his visit, he plans to meet with Korean businesses operating in Brazil and seek to resolve business challenges.   date2024-10-24

Minister Ahn attends Boom-Up Korea Week 2024 opening ceremony

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn attended Boom-Up Korea Week 2024 opening ceremony on October 23 at KINTEX in Ilsan, with the nationwide export promotion event now entering its second week. Minister Ahn gave an opening address and attended the MOU signing ceremony among KOTRA, COEX, KINTEX, BEXCO, KITA, and Korea Tourism Organization for nurturing global event launches integrating industry and culture programs, then toured the major exhibition booths. The ceremony was attended by representatives of related institutions including KOTRA, KITA, and KINTEX. date2024-10-24

Boom-Up Korea Week 2024 in full swing, enters 2nd week with trade show securing $235 mln in export deals

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) held a trade show on an unprecedented scale for Boom-Up Korea Week 2024 (“Boom-Up”) through October 22–23 at KINTEX in Ilsan, with the nationwide export promotion event now entering its second week. Launched over a period of two weeks from October 16–31, this year’s Boom-Up integrates 20 industrial exhibitions nationwide in conjunction with trade shows and introduces the new “Boom-Up Week” format for the first time through collaboration with Korea’s four major exhibition venues and key industry associations. Global buyers coming to Korea from around the world are provided catered services in terms of information and transportation. For this historic Boom-Up, KOTRA’s Korea Business Centers (KBCs) served as promotion channels for drawing 1,200 overseas buyers from 62 countries, including GM, Panasonic, and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), as well as 3,000 promising export companies and roughly 200,000 visitors. Exhibition booths for future mobility, nuclear power, bio, and other advanced industries took up center stage, showcasing high-performance hydrogen-electric hybrid concept cars (Hyundai Motor), world’s first commercial wireless communications and information systems for nuclear reactors (Ilshin EDI), and Korea’s first card payment platform for trade settlements (VISA).  In addition, visitors were able to experience a medical tourism promotion booth, free-trade zone (FTZ) business booth, and a one-stop export booth for bid participation assistance. MOTIE Minister Dukgeun Ahn visited the trade show booths to encourage export consultations and toured the local tourism program lounge introducing tours around Korea. The Boom-Up saw the inking of USD 235 million worth of export deals and memorandums of understanding (MOUs), the total outcome expected to reach $300 million considering additional contracts. In light of the recent global popularity of Korean culture, the Boom-Up is accommodating international visitors via diverse bleisure (blend of business and leisure) programs with tourist vouchers for lodging, local tours, and K-pop performances. Meanwhile, an MOU was signed among KINTEX, COEX, EXCO, BEXCO, KOTRA, Korea International Trade Association (KITA), and Korea Tourism Organization with an aim to nurture Korea’s exhibition industry for launching global-scale exhibitions like the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) or Mobile World Congress (MWC), as Korea is soon expected to rank among the world’s top five exporting countries. The Korean government will start the process of selecting applicants for this project at the end of 2024 to gear up efforts to activate a comprehensive support system for exhibition planning and consulting, attracting startups and buyers, launching sidelines events, and integrating tourism programs in step with global trends beginning next year.   date2024-10-23

Toray Industries invests over $100 mln in key materials production for advanced industries

Korea's Director-General for Cross-Border Investment Policy Peob-min Ryu attended today the groundbreaking ceremony for Japanese company Toray Industries’ advanced materials production plant in Gumi City, North Gyeongsang Province. After establishing its textiles manufacturing plant in Korea in 1963, Toray Industries has continued to expand investment in critical materials areas such as high-performance engineering plastics, secondary battery separators, and carbon textiles. Toray Industries’ accumulated total investments in Korea over the last six decades amount to roughly KRW 5 trillion, the largest among Japanese manufacturers, and approximately 4,000 new jobs have been created in the local economy. During Korea’s Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn’s visit to Japan in April 2024, Toray Industries pledged investment plans in aramid fiber production and this May, the company entered an investment cooperation memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Gumi City, North Gyeongsang Province, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) for a ₩500 billion investment in advanced materials areas by 2025. Today’s groundbreaking ceremony announces the commencement of construction for Toray Industries’ extension of facilities for producing aramid fibers and polyester film through a USD 100 million-plus investment. Aramid fibers are a class of fibers of ultra-high strength and ultra-high heat resistance used to produce electric vehicle (EV) motors and heat protective clothing. Polyester film is a key material for producing multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) used to make parts for EVs, AI devices, and autonomous vehicles. The establishment of a production base for these cutting-edge materials is anticipated to help reinforce the domestic supply chain and boost exports. In a congratulatory message at the groundbreaking ceremony, Director General Ryu stated that the ministry will give full measure to support the successful implementation of Toray Industries’ investment through cooperation with Gumi City and North Gyeongsang Province and shared plans to nurture a stable and attractive investment environment to further promote global high-tech companies’ investments in Korea.   date2024-10-23