Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea and UK launch third official negotiating round for upgrading bilateral FTA

Director General for FTA Negotiations Kwon Hye-jin at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea is heading the Korean delegation in the third official round of negotiations for an upgraded Korea-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) through November 11–14 in Seoul. The UK delegation is led by Adam Fenn, Chief Negotiator at the UK's Department for Business and Trade. Having inked the bilateral FTA in 2019 and seen its entry into force in 2021, the two countries declared the launch of negotiations for an upgraded Agreement on the occasion of Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the UK in November 2023. The first two rounds of negotiations for the upgraded Agreement were held this January and March, in Seoul and London, respectively. With this third negotiating round being the first to convene since the UK Labor Party’s inauguration in July, the Korean government is aiming to accelerate discussions across services, supply chains, digital, bio, and other areas. Highlighting that the UK is Korea’s key friendly nation and economic cooperation partner in new trade areas like advanced industries and energy, Director General Kwon expressed anticipation towards not only upgrading the existing Agreement, but also the introduction of emerging norms in supply chains, gender, and bio.   date2024-11-11

Trade Minister Cheong chairs conference with U.S.-invested firms to discuss public-private cooperation

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea held a conference today in Seoul with Korean businesses investing in the U.S. to take stock of the post-election investment situation and future public-private joint outreach measures. The conference was attended by representatives of major U.S.-invested companies specializing in semiconductors, electronics, automobiles, battery, renewable energy, and materials chemistry areas. Attendees discussed the future impact on U.S.-invested domestic companies in view of election results, sharing the understanding that public and private sectors need to cooperate to respond effectively to market changes. Trade Minister Cheong stated that the ministry plans to establish a system for close cooperation with industries to share relevant information and ensure timely consultations with the incoming U.S. administration and key industry figures. MOTIE intends to hold relay meetings per each industry to maintain public-private communication and stable trade relations.   date2024-11-08

Korea’s business leadership eyeing standards as means to secure super gaps in advanced industries

The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea launched the fourth Standards Leadership Forum on the high-tech industry today in Seoul with the participation of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) President Jo Cops, Korea’s chief technology officers (CTOs) and other standards leaders. The forum was held to discuss the importance of Korean businesses’ participation in international standards activities and response measures with regard to the intensifying global standards race to claim the rule-maker position in artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and such future industries. During discussions, CTOs agreed that international standards provide important guidance for emerging technologies and expressed commitment to taking part in the effort toward building global standards leadership to achieve super gaps in advanced industries. The IEC president gave a keynote lecture on the impact of international standards on Korean businesses, noting the rapid pace of innovation that AI and digital transformation are driving, and maintained the need for Korean firms to actively participate in standards activities in order to stay ahead in the race. The lecture was followed by experts’ presentations introducing cases of global standards set by Korean companies in high-tech industry areas including those for wearable devices’ monitoring of heart rate and step count, explainable AI technology, and neuromorphic devices. KATS President Jin Jong-wook assured continued support for Korean companies’ endeavors to gain a competitive edge in global standards based on the National Standardization Strategy for Advanced Industries established this May.   date2024-11-07

Korea attends DEPA Joint Committee meeting

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced that the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) member countries, namely Singapore, New Zealand, Chile, and Korea, held a virtual DEPA Joint Committee meeting today to take stock of accession negotiations progress and future plans. This May, Korea became the first country outside of DEPA’s founding membership to complete accession. Other countries such as China and Costa Rica have also applied for accession to DEPA, for which negotiations are ongoing. During today’s Joint Committee meeting, members discussed the launching of an accession working group to steer Peru’s accession negotiations, of which Korea will serve as Chair. Through this opportunity, it is anticipated that Korea can actively contribute to DEPA’s further development into a global platform for digital trade norms.   date2024-11-07

Korea’s 14 Opportunity and Development Zones kick off new era for noncapital regions

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced today its further designation of six Opportunity and Development Zones (ODZs) following the initial designation of eight of these special zones this June (Daegu, Busan, Jeonnam, Gyeongbuk, Jeonbuk, Gyeongnam, Daejeon, Jeju), laying down the groundwork to usher in an era of new growth for noncapital regions across Korea. Roughly 150 companies are planning to make investments amounting to KRW 16.4 trillion in the six new ODZs—Ulsan, Sejong, Gwangju, Chungnam, Chungbuk, and Gangwon—in addition to the previously poured ₩17.4, approaching ₩33.8 trillion in total investment. The new ODZs have managed to attract diverse companies, with each ODZ specializing in industries suitable for the region’s conditions, including electric vehicles (EVs), secondary batteries, petrochemicals, information and communications technology (ICT), software, robotics, pharmaceuticals, car parts, AI datacenters, biopharmaceuticals, hydrogen, food products, defense, semiconductors, EV materials, battery modules, and minerals. ODZ incentives have also induced some businesses to either turn back from their overseas investment schemes to domestic investments or relocate their facilities based in the Seoul capital area to noncapital parts. With all 14 noncapital regions’ cities and provinces now designated as ODZs, the total investment in Korea’s noncapital regions amounts to ₩74.3 trillion. MOTIE plans to closely monitor investment issues to ensure the timely implementation of planned investments.   date2024-11-06

Invest KOREA Summit 2024 to carry forward momentum towards attaining all-time high FDI

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea is launching the Invest KOREA Summit (IKS) 2024 from November 6–8 in Seoul. IKS 2024 will be held with the participation of over 2,000 attendees, composed of foreign investors, companies from home and abroad, the chambers of commerce in Korea, embassies to Korea, and local government bodies, who will be taking part in various IKS programs such as the investment declaration ceremony, Invest KOREA (IK) Conference, investor consultations, local governments’ town hall meetings, startup forums, and a foreign media press conference. With foreign direct investment (FDI) pledged to Korea over the first three quarters hitting an all-time high of USD 25.2 billion, the Government plans to give full measure to carry the momentum forward and seek ways to foster the country into a high-tech supply chain hub through greater investment from global advanced companies. Kicking off IKS 2024 is the foreign investment declaration ceremony, announcing a $0.9 billion worth of investments by seven global companies specializing in semiconductor equipment, automobile parts, offshore wind power, and logistics, followed by a ceremony commemorating the new designation of two global companies’ local headquarters in Korea, the first in nine years since the designation of five global companies’ local headquarters in 2015. The designation is meaningful in that Korea joins hands with global companies to nurture its high-tech industrial ecosystem. Multi-national American information technology company Hewlett Packard (HP) will be overseeing global R&D operations in Korea and the world-leading Danish wind turbine maker Vestas is to establish a wind power facility hub, leading to anticipation for quality jobs as well. Next, beginning with MOTIE Minister Dukgeun Ahn’s congratulatory message, the IK Conference invites the world’s oldest operating pharmaceutical firm Merck’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Karen Madden and Korea’s Presidential Committee on AI (PCAI) Vice Chairman Yeom Jae-ho as keynote speakers, followed by discussions on Korea’s investment environment and measures to enhance investment appeal with representatives of major foreign-invested companies like Onsemi, ASM, Sartorius, and Boeing. Not only that, but 140 foreign investor companies and 330 domestic firms and institutions are engaging in investment consultations for tangible outcomes. Meanwhile, the local government town hall meeting aims to promote each local government group to foreign investors, while the startup forum connects 50 global investors to 120 promising Korean startups and the foreign media press conference has 33 media outlets from 20 countries covering Korea’s strengths and meaningful achievements with regard to its investment environment. In his congratulatory speech, MOTIE Minister Ahn emphasizes commitment to policy efforts to nurture Korea into a high-tech global business hub through stronger advanced industrial capacity, technology and talent innovation, trade landscape stability, and regulatory upheaval.   date2024-11-06

Korea and Vietnam discuss trade remedy issues and stronger cooperation

The Korea Trade Commission (KTC) under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea held meetings with the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam today in Seoul to discuss trade remedy cooperation. Through the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and trade remedy cooperation memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in December 2015 and March 2018, respectively, the two countries have engaged in close exchanges on import control issues and trade remedies. Today’s discussions focused on ongoing investigations and controls including Vietnam’s anti-dumping investigation into Korean galvanized steel sheets commenced this June, on which KTC asked for minimal regulatory measures and care in investigations.   date2024-11-06

Korea and U.S. Reach Provisional Agreement on Nuclear Cooperation

Consistent with the deep and longstanding relationship between the United States and the Republic of Korea, the two countries reached a significant outcome on November 1, advancing their cooperation on civil nuclear energy by initialing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Principles Concerning Nuclear Exports and Cooperation.  The United States and the Republic of Korea reaffirmed their mutual commitment to promoting the expansion of peaceful nuclear energy while upholding the highest standards of nonproliferation, safety, safeguards, and security. Toward this end, the parties strengthened their administration of export controls on civil nuclear technology.  These further commitments will provide a springboard for the expansion of our bilateral work in combatting climate change, accelerating global energy transitions, and assuring critical supply chains while creating billions of dollars worth of new economic opportunities and the creation or maintenance of tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs for both of our industries. The MOU will proceed to final review in both countries' capitals.   date2024-11-05