Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea’s retail sales grow 8.5% in 2016

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 31 that retail sales rose by 8.5 percent in 2016 from a year earlier, driven by a double-digit growth of e-commerce sales.    Online retail sales soared 18.1 percent year-on-year in 2016 while in-store sales increased 4.5 percent. E-commerce sales have recorded a double-digit growth for three consecutive years amid the shift toward shopping on the Internet. It represents 32.4 percent of the total retail sales in 2016, up date2017-01-31

ICT exports expected to rebound in 2017

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 25 that exports of information and communications technology (ICT) products contracted 6 percent in 2016 from a year ago, but are expected to return to growth this year, having already rebounded to positive territory in the fourth quarter.   In 2016, exports of ICT products, including semiconductors, mobile phones, computers and displays, dropped 6 percent to USD162.5 billion from a year earlier while imports fell 1.8 percent date2017-01-25

Korea to host ASEM Economic Ministers’ Meeting in September in Seoul

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 24 that Korea will host the seventh ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Economic Ministers’ Meeting on September 21 and 22 in Seoul.   The ASEM Economic Ministers’ Meeting gathers trade and economy ministers from across Asia and Europe to promote trade and investment between the regions and discuss economic cooperation. Korea will host the first meeting of trade ministers in nearly 12 years since the last meeting in 2005 i date2017-01-24

Minister Joo attends WTO Ministerial Gathering in Davos

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced January 23 that Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Joo Hyunghwan attended on the informal World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Gathering on January 20 in Davos, Switzerland.    The informal meeting of ministers from the WTO member countries is hosted every year by the Swiss government in the fringes of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. At this year’s meeting, ministers from 29 WTO members and the WTO Di date2017-01-23

Minister Joo attends World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 20 that Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Joo Hyunghwan attended the 47th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, from January 17 to 19.   At this year’s Davos forum, with the theme of “Responsive and Responsible Leadership,” Minister Joo attended the opening ceremony where Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech and participated as a main panelist in various sessi date2017-01-20

Vice Minister Woo hosts 4th meeting of task force for Korea-China trade issues

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 17 that it hosted the fourth meeting of the pan-government task force on Korea-China trade issues to review the latest concerns raised by domestic industries.     Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Woo Taehee presided the meeting, which was joined by officials from other relevant ministries including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as well as representatives from vari date2017-01-17

Industrial materials, components exports return to growth in 4Q

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 16 that exports of industrial materials and components returned to growth in the fourth quarter last year after six quarters of contraction.    Exports of materials and components rose by 2 percent to USD 66.3 billion from the same quarter of 2015, on the back of the recovery of export prices to positive territory for the first time in two years.   Imports in the sectors rebounded along in the fourth quarter, up 1 date2017-01-16

Korea, China hold 1st FTA Joint Committee meeting in Beijing

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 13 that the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Joint Committee held the first meeting in Beijing, China to review the implementation of the bilateral trade pact, one year after it entered into force in December 2015.    The high-level Joint Committee, established under the Korea-China FTA, oversees its implementation and resolves trade-related issues. Its first meeting was co-chaired by Director General for Trade Coo date2017-01-13