Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea to Woo Int’l Shoppers with `FESTA’ Festival in Fall

Korea to Woo Int’l Shoppers with `FESTA’ Festival in Fall   The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced it would kick off the Korean version of ``Black Friday” festival under the name of the ``Korea Sale FESTA’’ for international shoppers between September 29 to October 31 with cooperation of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and other related public and private agencies.   The word ‘FESTA’ is formed by taking the initia date2016-06-21

Second Ministerial-Level Joint Committee to be Held on Korea-India CEPA

Second Ministerial-Level Joint Committee to be Held on Korea-India CEPA    Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Joo Hyunghwan will attend the Korea-India infrastructure industry cooperation forum, the Korea Plus opening ceremony and the second ministerial-level joint committee on the Korea-India CEPA in New Delhi, India, on June 17 and 18. * CEPA: Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.   The upcoming events, including the joint committee, will be held to examine the imple date2016-06-16

Korea-Columbia Free Trade Agreement goes into effect

Korea-Columbia Free Trade Agreement goes into effect   Korea-Columbia free trade agreement will go into effect on July 15 , 2016.   The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has revealed that the government of Columbia notified the Korean embassy on June 15 that it has completed the process of ratification. On the basis of the clause that describes the effective date of the agreement, the Korea-Columbia FTA comes into effect 30 days after notification from the Columbian govern date2016-06-16

First Korea-Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) industry cooperation committee to be held

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is sending a delegation headed by Deputy Minister for Trade Lee Inho to Russia from June 15 to June 16.   The delegation will hold the first Korea-Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) Industry Cooperation Committee in an effort to expand exports into the EEU region, which includes Russia.     Attachment: 0615 Korea-Eurasia Awakens Unlimited Potential of Cooperation date2016-06-15

MOTIE hosts the first meeting of Korea-EEU Commission on Industrial Cooperation

The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) was launched in January 2015.   The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) is an economic community that consists of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Armenia. The community has a high prospect of emerging as the EU of the East Europe, considering the region's rich natural resources and growth potential.   Russia has the world's second largest deposit of natural gas, coals, and tungsten, and Kazakhstan has the world's second largest reserve of chrome date2016-06-15

Environment-Friendly Energy Towns, not NIMBY Facilities

  The government has designated 6 new areas as environment-friendly energy towns.   An environment-friendly energy town is a business model in which NIMBY facilities such as incinerators, landfills, and livestock manure treatment plants are operated in a way that can create revenues for local residents and generate new renewable energy at the same time so that issues of both environment protection and energy can be resolved.   The six new areas include Inje (Gangwon), Eumseong (Chungbuk), Boryeong (Chungnam), Wanju (Jeonbuk), Jeju, and Seosan (Chungnam). The first five areas will be administered by the Ministry of Environment and the last will be run under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE).   Under the guidance from the ministries, the individual local governments will be responsible for planning and executing the project to build the environment-friendly energy towns in their regions, which will be completed in two or three years.   date2016-06-09

Pursuing Korea-Israel FTA with Focus on Cooperation in Technology and Startups

  The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (headed by Minister Joo Hyunghwan) held an expert meeting on June 2, to project the tangible outcome of the Korea–Israel free trade agreement (FTA). Assistant Minister for Trade Negotiations Kim Hak-do presided over the meeting, which was attended by private enterprises, research institutes, and investment institutions with interests in exports and cooperation in startups and technology. In preparation for the upcoming Korea-Israel FTA negotiations, this meeting was arranged to examine the status of bilateral trade and cooperation in startups and technology, as well as to discuss ways of further expanding these areas through the agreement.   date2016-06-02

South Korea's Exports Fall Six Percent in May

  Exports in May recorded USD 39.8 billion, a 6.0 percent fall from a year earlier. However, the value of exports denominated in Korean won rose 0.9 percent during the same period, reversing the downward trend that has continued for eight months since September last year.   Imports declined 9.3 percent to USD 32.7 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of USD 7.1 billion and continuing a 52-month surplus trend.   A breakdown of exports by sector reveals that overseas sales of computers increased by 3.6 percent as a result of growing demand for PCs attributable to upgrades to Window 10. Exports of electronic appliances also turned around to an upturn 22 months after the falling trend started in July 2014, growing 1.9 percent from a year earlier amid rising demand for TV sets driven by brisk sporting events and strong sales of premium products.   Exports of textile and petrochemicals rose by 1.1 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.   Semiconductors declined 4.1 percent due to falling DRAM prices and steel declined 4.0 percent from a year earlier as unit cost dropped. Automobiles decreased by 7.1 percent due to poor performance in emerging markets. Flat-panel displays decreased by 23.5 percent due to stagnant LCD demand and falling prices and wireless communication devices fell by 11.8 percent as the effects of new product launches waned. The shipbuilding sector also saw exports slide by 16.6 percent as deliveries of ships were delayed due to ship owners’ requests and lagging building processes.   On the other hand, five major consumer goods including cosmetics all posted solid growth. Exports of cosmetics jumped 60.7 percent, pharmaceuticals 25.2 percent, agricultural and fishery products 13.8 percent, household goods and infant and children’s items 11.3 percent, and fashion and clothing goods 8.7 percent.   Decline in imports slowed to a single-digit decline rate for the first time in 17 months. Imports of raw materials and capital goods decreased while more consumer goods were brought in from abroad during the same period.   date2016-06-01