Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Industrial materials, components exports return to growth in 4Q

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 16 that exports of industrial materials and components returned to growth in the fourth quarter last year after six quarters of contraction.    Exports of materials and components rose by 2 percent to USD 66.3 billion from the same quarter of 2015, on the back of the recovery of export prices to positive territory for the first time in two years.   Imports in the sectors rebounded along in the fourth quarter, up 1 date2017-01-16

Vice Minister Woo hosts 'trade policy forum'

Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Woo Taehee (second from right) held a 'trade policy forum' in Seoul on January 11 to discuss in advance some of the pending trade issues facing each industry and possibly construct potential countermeasures. Some of the key industry leaders including Kim Yong-geun, president and CEO of the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association; Song Jae-bin, vice chairman of the Korea Iron and Steel Association; and Lim Seung-yoon, vice chairman of the Korea Petroch date2017-01-11

FDI in Korea hits fresh record high in 2016

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on Tuesday that the foreign direct investment (FDI) newly pledged in 2016 reached a record high of USD 21.3 billion, showing a 1.9 percent rise from $20.91 billion a year ago.   This figure marked the largest amount of FDI pledged in history for a four-quarter-period, surpassing the earlier record of $20.91 billion set in 2015. The amount of new FDI into the country has now surpassed the $20 billion mark for two years in a row, accordin date2017-01-05

Korean exports jump 6.4 percent in December

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on Sunday that South Korean exports rose by 6.4 percent to USD 45.1 billion in December last year compared to the same period a year ago, while on-year imports rose by 7.3 percent to $38.1 billion. Accordingly, the trade balance in December stood at a $7 billion surplus, remaining in the positive for the 59th consecutive month.With the help of the positive growth of exports in November and December in a row, quarterly exports turned to po date2017-01-04

Korea to invest 14 trillion won into new energy projects

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 4 that it expects Korea will invest nearly 14 trillion won into emerging energy industries, primarily driven by an increase in investments by the private sector.   Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Joo Hyunghwan hosted a meeting between himself, the financial sector, public sector, as well as other suppliers and business leaders, in order to share investment plans and introduce some of the new businesses that are currently date2017-01-04

Minister Joo holds second public-private talk on Korea-U.S. trade issues

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Joo Hyunghwan (second from left) on December 28 hosted a second meeting between government and private experts that convened last month in order to deal with potential U.S. protectionist measures amid the incoming Trump administration. Minister Joo and roughly 40 other business leaders and heads of research institutes including Kim In-ho, chairman and CEO of Korea International Trade Association; Lee Dong-geun, executive vice chairman of Korea Chamber of Comm date2016-12-28

Vice Minister Jeong meets with Japanese business leaders in Korea

Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Jeong Marn-ki (center) attended the Seoul Japan Club Leaders’ Meeting in Seoul on December 23, 2016.  The vice minister outlined his ministry’s policies for ensuring a stable economy and called for more active participation to maintain the rising trend of foreign investment. He encouraged investors to have confidence in the fundamentals of the Korean economy, stressing that the country plans to implement sound economic policies on a cons date2016-12-26

Ministry hosts emergency meeting for export policy check-up after impeachment vote

Led by the Trade-Industry-Energy MinisterJoo Hyunghwan, the Ministry hosted an urgent meeting to inspect current export environment and to predict the outlook for exports next year on Dec 13 in Seoul with key exporters and export promotion-related organizations like KOTRA and Korea Trade Insurance Corp. in its efforts to minimize the impact from the parliament’s impeachment vote against the President last Friday.    In an opening remark, Minister Joo underscored growing unce date2016-12-13

Vice Minister Woo launches task force to cope with Korea-China trade issues

Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Woo Taehee (second from right) launched a task force at a pan-government level to cope with China's growing non-tariff trade barriers against Korean companies or goods on Dec 2.The decision was announced during the Korea-China trade issue monitoring session with government officials from relevant ministries such as the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Agriculture, Food date2016-12-02

Minister Joo stresses benefits of KOR-US FTA to U.S. biz community in Korea

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Joo Hyunghwan (left) gave a speech at American Chamber of Commerce in Korea(AMCHAM) General Membership Meeting highlighting Korean government's constant effort towards bilateral economic and trade relation between Korea and the U.S. on Nov. 29. The meeting was attended also by the chairman of AMCHAM James Kim (right), as well as the president of AMCHAM John Schuldt and Ambassador Mark Lippert.   Minister Joo emphasized that Korea-US FTA has been date2016-12-01