Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea to resume WTO complaint over Japan’s export restrictions on key materials

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a briefing on June 2, and announced that it would resume dispute settlement proceedings with respect to the WTO complaint over Japan’s export curbs on three key industrial inputs for the semiconductor industry.   Japan imposed the export restrictions on these key materials related to semiconductor manufacturing on July 4, 2019. Over the past six months, Korea has halted the WTO complaint process and focused on dialogue with Japan to re date2020-06-03

Korea’s May exports fall 23.7% to $34.9 billion

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on June 1 that Korea’s exports in May saw a year-on-year decrease of 23.7 percent to USD 34.9 billion. Imports dropped 21.1 percent to $34.4 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $436 million. Exports in May fell due to the global economic slowdown led by the novel coronavirus, as well as 1.5 fewer working days compared to a year earlier. Korea’s trade balance turned to black only after one month of deficit. Imports of capital date2020-06-01

Exports of Korean ICT goods in April record $12.9 billion

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on May 14 that Korean information and communications technology (ICT) goods in April recorded USD 12.9 billion, down 15.3 percent compared to a year earlier. Imports fell 6.4 percent to $8.9 billion, and the trade balance stood at a surplus of $4.0 billion. Exports experienced a year-on-year decline due to a slowdown in the key export items – semiconductors, displays, and mobile phones. By item, shipments of semiconductors, displays, date2020-05-14

Trade Minister Yoo talks with WTO director-general and calls for contingency guidelines

Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee held a virtual meeting with the WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo, on May 12, to discuss WTO-level responses to minimize the damage from the coronavirus pandemic on the multilateral trade system.   In particular, Trade Minister Yoo suggested that it is important to set contingency guidelines for the member countries, to quickly restore the global trade order and resolve international trade and investment issues in emergency situations. date2020-05-13

Korea renews call for Japan to lift export curbs on three key materials

Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a briefing on May 12, and urged Japan to respond to Korea’s request of lifting restrictions on its exports of three key industrial materials by the end of this month.   Japan imposed the regulations on July 4 last year without a notice. The briefing came after Korea has met all prerequisites in order for a swift resolution of pending issues, including the revision of article related to catch-all controls on conventional arms trade and the date2020-05-12

Korea, EU discuss global trade issues amid COVID19 pandemic

Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee held a videoconference with her EU counterpart Phil Hogan, on May 7, to discuss cooperative countermeasures to the coronavirus and various trade-related issues.   Trade Minister Yoo suggested that the two sides work together to ease non-tariff barriers and hold a digital strategic dialogue to the international standards for digital trade. Yoo also asked for the EU’s support in designating the K-quarantine model an international standard as an effort to s date2020-05-08

Minister Sung discusses cooperative measures for post-corona economic recovery with representatives of foreign-invested companies in Korea

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo (center) attended a dialogue with representatives from foreign-invested companies at Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry headquarters, on May 6, to discuss cooperative measures for Korea’s economic recovery in the post-corona era.   The businesses representatives praised Korea’s prompt and transparent leadership in responding to the virus and expressed willingness to mobilize all available resources in the course of COVID-19 r date2020-05-07

Korea’s exports fall 24.3 percent to $36.9 billion in April

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on May 1 that Korea’s exports in April fell 24.3 percent compared to the same period a year earlier to USD 36.9 billion. Imports also dropped 15.9 percent to $37.9 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $950 million. Exports in April decreased significantly with the coronavirus pandemic in full swing. The decrease was led by a sharp drop in demand in major markets such as the U.S. and the EU coupled with plunging oil prices. Also, the date2020-05-01

Trade Minister talks with Philippine and Australian ministers to discuss cooperative measures against COVID19

Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee held a teleconference with her Philippine and Australian counterparts Ramon M. Lopez and Simon Birmingham, respectively, on April 27, to discuss ways to boost international cooperation in response to COVID-19 and pending bilateral trade issues.   Trade Minister Yoo stressed the need for international cooperation to allow business travels of essential personnel and maintain logistics flow in order to ease the economic fallout from the virus.   The three date2020-04-27

Trade Minister discusses preemptive measures to cope with changes in trade after coronavirus pandemic

Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee (right) held a meeting with trade experts at the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation building in Seoul, on April 23, to discuss prospects for the international business environment in the post-coronavirus world and seek preemptive measures to the unprecedented challenges to global trade.   Trade Minister Yoo said the post-pandemic set of trade orders characterized by increased protectionism and weaker global supply chain could pose risks to Korea’s export- date2020-04-24