Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Minister Moon meets with future cars investor in France

Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook met with French high-tech auto parts maker Valeo CEO Christophe Périllat in Paris and held a ceremony to commemorate the firm's planned investment of USD 35 million in South Korea. The investment is anticipated to bolster Korea’s future cars technology base and supply chain resilience. Valeo is a major auto parts manufacturer based in France with over 110,000 employees, running 191 production facilities in 33 countries worldwide. date2022-03-25

Korea-U.S. joint briefing for domestic companies on exports regarding sanctions against Russia

The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) held an online joint briefing session on March 16 for Korean businesses regarding recent sanctions against Russia and Belarus. This briefing session was held at the request of the Korean government during close negotiations between MOTIE and DoC, and it is a first for the DoC to have held a joint briefing for a country-specific group of companies. The session was held for approximately 90 minutes and date2022-03-21

10 years of Korea-U.S. FTA: Decade of Growth and Mutual Benefits

The Korea-U.S. FTA has reached 10 years since enforcement in 2012. Statistics show that the agreement has enlarged bilateral trade, as well as Korea’s exports to the U.S. over the decade. In 2012, Korea-U.S. trade amounted to USD 101.8 billion, which grew 66.1 percent to $169.1 billion in 2021. Korea’s shipments imports, and trade balance to U.S. grew 29.4 percent, 27.3 percent, and 36.7 percent, respectively. Major exports items to U.S. are automobiles (parts), semiconductors, co date2022-03-21

Korea issues joint statement with WTO denouncing Russia's Ukraine invasion

The Korean government issued a joint statement on March 15 denouncing Russia’s Ukraine invasion along with major WTO member states, including the U.S. EU, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. The joint statement is titled, “Joint statement on aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine with the support of Belarus” and states the following: - “We, WTO Members…(omitted)…are united in condemning in the strongest possible terms the Russi date2022-03-18

Korea's automobile export value grows 9.1% in February

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on March 16 that Korea’s automobile industry in February increased in exports and production, while domestic sales sank compared to the same period of previous year. Total auto output in February rose 1.2 percent to 263,959 units. Despite prolonged automotive semiconductor shortages, efforts on part of finished carmakers and completion of production facilities have driven production, domestic sales and exports to recover pre-COVID perfo date2022-03-16

ICT exports achieve 23.7% growth to $18.9 billion in February

The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy announced on March 15 that outbound shipments of Korea’s information and communications technology (ICT) goods in February reached an all-time high of USD 18.9 billion, recording a year-on-year growth of 23.7 percent. Imports of ICT products climbed 23.9 percent to $11.4 billion, and the trade surplus in this sector stands at an estimated $7.5 billion. Exports of all major items experienced growth except for mobile phones. Outbound shipments o date2022-03-15

Trade Minister to visit U.S. in time for Korea-U.S. FTA 10th Anniversary

Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and a parliamentary delegation will visit the U.S. on March 14-18 (local time) in commemoration of the Korea-U.S. FTA 10th Anniversary, with plans to meet with various U.S. government officials, lawmakers, and entrepreneurs. The Korea-U.S. FTA is deemed to have mutually benefited both sides in terms of trade and investment growth, and is seen to have been the core foundation on which the two nations’ economic cooperation strengthened over the last decade. Korea date2022-03-14

Industrial Digital Transformation (DX) Task Force is launched

  Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook announced on March 7 the launching of the “Industrial Digital Transformation (DX) Task Force” for a coordinated push to effectuate a digital transition across industry sectors. The aim of this move is to swiftly roll out the details settled under the “Special Act to Accelerate Industrial Digital Transformation” passed by the national assembly last December, set for enforcement on July 5, in order to accelerate t date2022-03-11