Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea-Vietnam FTA to come into effect on December 20

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 16 that the FTA between Korea and Vietnam will come into effect on December 20.     Thanks to the FTA with Vietnam, which is Korea's third largest consumer, Korean businesses are expected to have enhanced price competitiveness in the Vietnamese market.     Customs duties will be reduced on December 20, 2015 and again on January 1, 2016, which will increase Korean exports to Vietnam.     For instance, the 25 percent tax levied on juice blenders would have been removed in 2020 if the FTA were put in force next year, but it will be removed from 2019 if it is put in force this year.     Vietnam is Korea's third largest consumer after the US and China. This FTA is also seen to increase the level of investor protection in the country.     Furthermore, the high-level investment protection policies are expected to help create a more stable investment environment than the Korea-ASEAN FTA, which included guarantee of remittance and suitable compensation.     * Short version date2015-12-16

Drone delivery to be made available to islands and mountain villages

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 16 that trial drone services for power & gas maintenance and deliveries to islands and mountain villages will be available starting next year.     These drone services were announced by the MOTIE on December 16, 2015 during the "Seminar on the Promotion of Drone Industry Demand" at the Federation of Korean Industries Conference Center.     A plan was introduced at the seminar to start two or three trial programs for monitoring, delivery, and rescue missions with a budget of KRW 1.5 billion ($1.33 million) and the goal of promoting drone demand.     The plan includes the establishment of infrastructure such as national flight performance test site in Goheung, Jeollanam-do and rationalization of regulations and procedures.     It also includes support for the development of high-efficiency drones such as customized drones and low-cost flight control systems.     At the seminar, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) shared the results of drone inspection of steel towers, telephone poles, and other power systems that are physically difficult to access by service staff. It also introduced a plan for the further application of drones.     Seoul City Gas introduced a plan to use drones to check for leaks from gas pipes installed on high-rise buildings and bridges that are difficult to maintain, including damages to gas pipes caused by road construction.     Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) announced that it will develop and test systems for the application of drones in delivering goods to remote regions, such as islands and mountain villages, starting next year.     * Short version date2015-12-16

Participants of K-Sale Day enjoy sales increase

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 15 that major participants of K-Sale Day, a large-scale shopping event from November 20 to December 13, enjoyed an 8.4 percent increase in their sales compared to the same period last year.     The K-Sale Day was held from November 20 to December 15 with the participation of a total of 102 companies, 500 traditional marketplaces and 371 small and medium size manufacturers.     Among them, department stores have achieved a 7.8 percent increase in sales despite the slow sales growth they have experienced over the years. Department stores saw 5.4 percent sales increase in 2012, 2.6 percent increase in 2013 and 1.6 percent decrease in 2014.     During the K-Sale Day event, online shopping malls enjoyed a 10.4 percent sales increase compared to the same period of the previous year, or over 7 percent annual sales increase.     Supermarkets' daily necessity sales rose only by 2.8 percent, but the increase resulted in bringing positive effects. Last year, supermarkets' annual sales dropped by 2.2 percent.     As for convenience stores, their sales rose by 23.6 percent, most of which is due to the increased cigarette prices     * Short version date2015-12-15

9th Korea-China-Japan FTA negotiation talks to be held in Hakone, Japan

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 14 that the 9th working-level talks for the Korea-China-Japan will be held from December 14 to December 18, 2015 in Hakone, Japan.     The talks will include guidelines for negotiations on the reduction of customs duties, free service and investment, and other core issues. The negotiations will be carried out by over 20 technical teams.     Korea, China, and Japan have brought the "Comprehensive and High-Standard FTA Principles" to the negotiation table on eight occasions since the announcement of the FTA in November 2012.     At the summit meeting held between the three countries in November this year, the leaders have agreed to accelerate the negotiations to reach a comprehensive, high-standard, and mutually beneficial FTA     * Short version date2015-12-14

Provisional Korea-EU FTA fully in effect starting December 13

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 11 that the Korea-EU FTA will be in full effect starting December 13 after a provisional period of 4 years and 5 months.     The Korea-EU FTA has been provisionally in effect since July 1, 2011 due to the different ratifications by the 27 EU member states.     After the full implementation of the FTA on December 13, and according to the decisions made at the EU council meeting, some of the articles that have been excluded during the provisional period, such as cultural cooperation protocol and intellectual property enforcement, have also been put in force.     The Cultural Cooperation Protocol regulates cooperation between artists, cultural experts, performers, and audio-visual production as well as broadcasting, performing arts, publication, and cultural properties.     The intellectual property enforcement regulates trademark rights, copyright, violation of neighboring rights, criminal punishment procedures, and types with regard to the violation of geographical indication and design counterfeit.     * Short version date2015-12-11

Power supply to be stabilized for this Winter with over 12 million kW in power reserve

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 10 that power supply may be stabilized for this winter with power reserves of around 12.21 million kW, which is about 3.85 million kW more than the last winter.     According to the ministry's forecast, the expected power consumption this winter is 81 million kW, or 390,000 kW more than the winter of last year. Thanks to new power generators, the maximum power supply capacity will increase by 3.85 million kW to 93.21 million kW.     With this, power reserves are expected at around 12.21 million kW --- enough to ensure stable power supply unless the weather is abnormally cold, a large generator shuts down or the power cables break.     The Ministry said that it has emergency plans to make sure power supply is stabilized even in case of an accident.     The ministry has conducted special inspections on power plants, transmission and transformer facilities that greatly affect power supply in case of a failure.     It has also secured 4.21 million kW of power reserve by opening a resource consumption trade market to promote voluntary reduction of power consumption and using the electricity generated through test runs of new generators to be in service from early next year.     Additional 3 million kW is also reserved through voltage reduction, maximum operation of privately-owned generators and emergency power-saving in preparation for unexpected power shortage.     * Short version   date2015-12-10

A roadmap for smart manufacturing R&D to be announced

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning announced on December 10 that a mid- to long-term roadmap to provide strategic support for smart manufacturing technologies for smart sensors, CPS, 3D printing, energy saving, IoT, cloud, big data and hologram.     These are the eight core technologies needed for building a mass production system and innovating the manufacturing industries through early development of new products, production of efficient prototypes and establishment of an optimum mass production system.     According to the roadmap, a total of 416 billion won ($376 million) will be invested in the development of smart manufacturing technologies in the next five years. The ministries plan to reflect the importance of technology development, effects on the industries and level of urgency in their R&D and investment plans starting from next year.     They forecasted that over 56,000 people will be needed in these areas, and the number of new jobs is expected to reach over 25,000. More demand is expected for the areas of design, planning, security and fusion technology R&D.     They plan to focus on the development of human resources for each respective area, strengthening of relationship between businesses and engineering faculties of universities in different regions and designation of human resources development councils for the areas of new technology.     They set up a roadmap promotion council composed of 76 experts from universities, businesses and research institutes at the end of April for the innovation of manufacturing industries with the support of KIAT and IITP.     * Short version date2015-12-10

Korea-New Zealand FTA in Force from December 20, 2015

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 09 that the FTA between Korea and New Zealand will be in force from December 20, 2015.     Korea and New Zealand exchanged diplomatic notes to confirm the enforcement of the FTA on December 20, 2015 at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on December 9, 2015.     According to the FTA, customs duties will be reduced for the second time on January 1, 2016 for mutual benefits for both countries.     Click below to see details of the Korea-New Zealand FTA.         * Short version   date2015-12-09