Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

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

Korea, U.S. host 4th KORUS FTA Joint Committee meeting in Seoul

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 12 that the fourth meeting of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) Joint Committee was held in Seoul to review the implementation of the bilateral trade pact.    The fourth meeting of the high-level Joint Committee, established under the KORUS FTA, was attended by Deputy Minister for Trade, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Inho, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Japan, Korea and APEC Michael Be date2017-01-13

Korea, China, Japan agree to accelerate FTA talks

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 12 that top trade officials from Korea, China and Japan agreed at a meeting held in Beijing last Monday to Wednesday to accelerate the free trade negotiations for the 11th round of Korea, China, Japan FTA talks.  The meeting, as the first trilateral high-level negotiation held since June last year, was attended by Deputy Minister for Trade Negotiations Lee Sang-jin of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and his counter date2017-01-12

Korea’s auto production and sales decline in 2016

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 11 that Korea’s auto production, domestic sales and exports all appear to have slowed in 2016 despite some numbers having bounced back towards the year-end. Data revealed that although car production and exports in December rose 5.9 percent to 434,877 units and 6.3 percent to 300,242 units, respectively, from a year earlier, domestic sales dropped year-on-year by 7.2 percent to 186,035 units. However, when compared to the mon date2017-01-11

FDI in Korea hits fresh record high in 2016

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on Tuesday that the foreign direct investment (FDI) newly pledged in 2016 reached a record high of USD 21.3 billion, showing a 1.9 percent rise from $20.91 billion a year ago.   This figure marked the largest amount of FDI pledged in history for a four-quarter-period, surpassing the earlier record of $20.91 billion set in 2015. The amount of new FDI into the country has now surpassed the $20 billion mark for two years in a row, accordin date2017-01-05