Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Trade Minister visits Google’s New York headquarters

Trade Minister Inkyo Cheong visited Google’s New York headquarters on September 12 and met Google Cloud's Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy Marcus Jadottee and discussed ways to deepen Korea-U.S. cooperation in IT and digital trade policies development before touring Google’s New York campus. date2024-09-13

Trade Minister speaks at Korea-U.S. Economic Cooperation Seminar

Trade Minister Inkyo Cheong attended the Korea-U.S. Economic Cooperation Seminar on September 12 at Korea Society headquarters in New York to discuss the impact of trade, investment and technology cooperation on both economies and future vision for Korea-U.S. economic cooperation.   The seminar was attended by 60 economy experts of both countries, including Korea Society President Thomas Byrne and representatives of Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and LG Business Research. date2024-09-13

Trade Minister Cheong engages in wide-ranging outreach to U.S.

Korea’s Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met various key figures in the Biden administration, U.S. Congress, academia, and financial circles in Washington D.C. and New York City during his visit from September 11–12 as part of outreach activities to advance the mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation between Korea and the U.S. amid increasing changes in the trade environment. Among those in the current administration, Trade Minister Cheong met with Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves and discussed the outcomes and follow-up measures to the Korea-U.S. Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue Ministerial Meeting and the Korea-Japan-U.S. trilateral Commerce and Industry Ministerial Meeting held in June, as well as Korea’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Crisis Response Network chairmanship and other trade issues.  The trade chief met U.S. Representative Young Kim to discuss visa issues and asked support for investment incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other agendas of interest for Korean businesses. He also met with former Representatives Ron Kind, Jim Davis, and Tom Davis to discuss response measures to future U.S. industrial and trade policies. At Google’s New York headquarters, he sat down with executives to exchange views on digital trade policy development and ways to deepen Korea-U.S. advanced technology cooperation in AI, smart devices, and cloud computing before touring the cutting-edge working environment at Google’s New York campus.   Meanwhile, Trade Minister Cheong took part in the various events convened on the occasion of his visit. He attended the Korea-U.S. Economic Cooperation Seminar and Investors Roundtable for wider scope of bilateral cooperation and gathered business issues from locally operating Korean companies. On the last day of his trip, he met with experts from LG Business Research and U.S. law firm Arnold & Porter at the Korea-U.S. Economic Cooperation Seminar to take stock of trade, investment and technology cooperation outcomes. Lastly, the trade minister met Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer among other leaders of major think tanks like Asia Society to assess the Korea-U.S. alliance and its role amid the rapidly changing global dynamics. In view of the growing geopolitical importance placed on East Asia, they discussed tasks to tackle for Korea to rise as a key country in terms of trade, economy, and security. Trade Minister Cheong stated that this trip to the U.S. leading up to its presidential elections is expected to further catalyze the two countries’ economic exchanges going forward.   date2024-09-13

Trade Minister chairs meeting with Korean firms in N.Y.

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong chaired a meeting with representatives of Korean firms operating in New York on September 11 in New York City and discussed business issues.   The meeting was attended by representatives of POSCO International, LG Electronics, Samsung C&T, Hanwha, and Doosan Enerbility. date2024-09-13

Trade Minister meets Eurasia Group President

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer on September 11 in New York City and discussed measures for deeper Korea-U.S. cooperation amid the changing trade environment. date2024-09-13

Trade Minister chairs Investors Roundtable in N.Y.

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong chaired the Investors Roundtable on September 11 (local time) in New York City with the participation of representatives from U.S. companies, including UPS, DuPont, Factorial Energy, EMP Belstar, and Morgan Stanley, where he gave opening remarks and discussed global trends, plans for investment in Korea, and related issues. date2024-09-12

Trade Minister holds investment declaration ceremony in N.Y.

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong received the investment declaration submitted by UPS Vice President of State Government & Public Affairs at UPS Axel Carrión on September 11 (local time) in New York City for upgrading the cargo terminal logistics system at Incheon International Airport. date2024-09-12

Advanced materials and logistics companies pledge $83.6 mln investments in Korea

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced on September 11 that United Parcel Service (UPS), Toray Advanced Materials Korea, and a semiconductor specialty gas manufacturer (“Company A”) submitted investment declarations worth approximately USD 83.6 million (KRW 112 billion) during Trade Minister Inkyo Cheong’s visit to the U.S. The world’s largest package delivery service company UPS currently operates a logistics business in Korea centering around its air express hub at Incheon International Airport (ICN). The multinational shipping company has pledged investment to advance its freight handling system at ICN, which is viewed to strengthen Korea’s logistics industry competitiveness through expedited services. Alongside the UPS' investment declaration, two other companies pledged investment during the trade chief's visit to the U.S. Toray Advanced Materials Korea, a global supplier of advanced material solutions, plans to expand facilities for producing polyester film, an advanced material used in the manufacturing process for displays and multilayer ceramic condensers (MLCCs). Meanwhile, Company A, producer of specialty gases used in the etching and cleaning process for manufacturing semiconductors, plans to expand facilities for producing specialty gases used for leading-edge chip manufacturing. These investments are expected to not only expand the advanced materials production base in Korea but also help stabilize the domestic chip industrial supply chain. On the heels of the investment declaration ceremony, Trade Minister Cheong attended the Investors Roundtable and discussed global industry trends as well as plans and issues concerning investments in Korea with representatives of DuPont, UPS, Emp Belstar, Factorial Energy, and Morgan Stanley.   MOTIE will be assigning ministry officials to take exclusive charge of each project for the swift and smooth facilitation of the declared investments and take steps to attract new foreign direct investment (FDI) in advanced industry sectors like semiconductors, secondary batteries, bio, and electric vehicles (EVs) to spur the economy and attain this year’s FDI target of $35 billion. date2024-09-12

Trade Minister meets U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong held talks with U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves on September 10 in Washington D.C. on bilateral trade issues such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). date2024-09-11

Trade Minister Cheong holds talks with U.S. Representative Young Kim

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met U.S. Representative Young Kim on September 10 in Washington D.C. and discussed Korea-U.S. trade issues. date2024-09-11