Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

K-Sale Day to be held to attract more consumers

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on November 19 that the "K-Sale Day" will be held from November 20 to December 15.     This event will be participated by a total of 72 departments, large supermarkets, convenience stores, member companies of the Federation of Distribution Industry, online shopping malls, large manufacturers, retailers and food service providers.     Various items including home supplies, appliances, food, electronics and clothes will be available at between 10 and 50 percent discount.     For more information, visit www.k-saleday.com.     * Short version date2015-11-19

FTA negotiations to be held on protecting Korean contents in new markets through copyright laws

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 19 that experts pointed out that Korea should engage in the FTA negotiation talks by taking into consideration the current conditions of the digital world in order to protect Korean content in emerging markets.     Choi Gyeongsu, one of the experts present at the meeting, said, "Most of Korean online content such as TV dramas, movies and music are distributed on the Internet and smartphones even in the emerging markets. Therefore, we need to come up with a system with which to prevent copyright violation by strengthening the access control tools through this FTA."     Here, the access control tools refer to various technical measures employed to prevent or control unauthorized access to the works, including DVD area code and access password.     Choi also stressed that Korea should add provisions on the protection of Korean broadcasting and satellite signals that are currently copied and transmitted illegally in the local areas."     The experts of copyright law also present at the meeting agreed that Korean online content will receive added protection if the civil and criminal procedures regarding copyright violation in the emerging markets are more clearly defined.     The strategic meeting for copyright protection in the FTA was called to order by MOTIE and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in order to review and discuss the goals and strategies of copyright negotiations through the FTA, while also sharing the trends in copyright negotiations through the RCEP and FTA copyright negotiations with America.     * Short version date2015-11-19

The 2015 Engineering Education Festival to be held for engineers, manufacturers, and people

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 18 that it will sponsor the "2015 Engineering Education Festival" to be held at the Daegu EXPO between November 18 and 19. It will be held for the fourth time to encourage and support engineering students, and show a guideline for them to enter the industry after their graduation.     During the festival, engineering students at the Gachon University showcased a solution that can automatically maintain the balance of the stretcher. Their idea was to install angle and vibration sensors on the stretcher to help the medical staff always maintain the horizontal level.     The students received the Prime Minister's Award for their invention at the festival.     Meanwhile, students at the Korea University of Technology & Education introduced a new embedded system for musicians. Using this system, an LED display can be embedded on a guitar to show the notes so that the guitarist doesn't have to have a sheet music to practice the music. Including these two, a total of five inventions received the MOTIE Award.     At the festival, college students can compete with their new and innovative engineering ideas, show their capstone designs and also get the chance to participate in global engineering conferences.     This year's festival was participated by more than 20,000 students and professors from over 120 colleges of engineering, as well as engineers from Hyundai Motor and LG Electronics.     * Short version date2015-11-18

Farmers able to check out duty-free oil prices at Opinet

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 16 that anyone can check out duty-free agricultural oil prices at Opinet (www.spinet.co.kr) launched and operated by the Korea National Oil Corporation. The website is designed to help farmers find the best price for their oil.     While leaded and unleaded gasoline prices that have been open for comparison at the site, duty-free agricultural oil prices were not, leaving the farmers at a loss to find out the best price.     To solve this problem, the MOTIE and Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs joined hands to provide duty-free oil prices through Opinet from November 16.     A total of 658 Nonghyup gas stations and 480 other brand gas stations have agreed to post their price on Opinet for farmers.     The MOTIE plans to revise relevant laws and regulations to make it mandatory for all the remaining 4,544 gas stations in South Korea to post their oil prices on Opinet.     Once revised, gas stations will also be forced to display their duty-free oil price in addition to leaded and unleaded gasoline prices starting from January 1, 2015, making it easier for farmers to know how much money they can save on tax.     * Short version date2015-11-16

MOTIE signs MOU to utilize warm water from power plants

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 12 that MOTIE and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries signed an MOU to remove barriers between their divisions for the utilization of the warm water from power plants. After signing the MOU, they created new fish farms around Boryeong Thermal Power Plant and Nam-Jeju Thermal Power Plant. These fish farms mostly grow spotted bass eggs and young striped beakfish.     One example of using the power plant water for fish farming is the Busan Natural Gas Power Plant, which is a project participated by the power plant, Korea Maritime Institute and National Institute of Fisheries Science. A heat storage system is also installed to maximize the use of the warm water, so that the heat supply can cover a wider area.     Korea is not the only country using the power plant water, as many European countries and the US have already been using the power plant water for fish farming, tropical botanical gardens and crocodile farms. As for Korea, the country plans to be competitive in using the power plant water as a new source of growth convergence with ITC.     * Short version date2015-11-12

The 2nd special sale season to be launched for Chinese online shoppers

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 10 that Korean online shopping malls have agreed to launch the 2nd Special Sale Season for Chinese shoppers between November 26 and 28.     In the first season between August 19 and 21, a total of 17 Korean online shopping malls put their items on discount, and more than 410,000 Chinese shoppers visited their sites and purchased over 1.5 billion won ($1.35 million) worth of goods, which is about 3.7 times more than the total sales during the same period in the previous year.     The only problem was that a majority of Chinese is not familiar with these sites.     To remedy this situation, they have recruited five big online shopping malls that are currently operating in China in addition to 19 shopping malls operating in South Korea, so more Chinese will be aware of the sale season.     This time the online shopping malls will promote their sale by using web ads, with the appearance of the "hallyu star" Lee Da-Hae, a Korean actress popular in China.     * Short version date2015-11-10

A popular comic character to be used as a public relations officer for FTA

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 10 that Dalma, a popular comic character in South Korea who represents typical, married middle-aged South Korean office workers, was appointed as a public relations officer for FTA.     The government agencies that voted to use him in their guideline for using FTA's include MOTIE, KCCI (Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and KOTRA (Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency), because the character in the comic book, "Cheer Up, Dalma!" portrays the everyday life of an ordinary Korean man.     The guideline includes the basic concept of FTA, export methods, business culture by country and a list of experts who can provide help on a case by case basis.     MOTIE has been promoting the use of this guideline through video and theater ads since August this year.     This time, the ministry published a guideline that can actually help Korean businesses seeking to enter the Chinese market. As for KCCI and KOTRA, they plan to use this guideline as a training material for the FTA staff.     The webtoon, "Cheer Up, Dalma!" on Naver had over 16,000 subscribers and more than 20,000 viewers per episode.     * Short version date2015-11-10

New Shin Wolsong nuclear plant units 1 & 2 now in operation for more power supply

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 09 that Shin Wolsong Nuclear Plant Units 1 and 2 with a power generation capacity of 1,000MW each are now in operation.     The MOTIE held an opening ceremony at the new power plant units located in Wolseong, Gyeongju, South Korea on November 9, 2015 with the participation of more than 1,000 related parties and local residents.     With these new units, total power reserves will increase by 3.4 percent, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 13 million tons.     A total of 5 trillion won have been invested in this project since it was launched in October 2005, and over 700 billion worth of economic activities are expected to be generated from this.     * Short version date2015-11-09