Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

FTZ (Free Trade Zones)

There are 13 FTZs in Korea, including seven industrial complexes, five seaports and one airport. * Responsible authorities: MOTIE fo Masan Gunsan Daebul Donghae Yulchon Ulsan Gimjae Busan Port Gwangyang Port No. of firms (foreign) : 34 date2014-12-29

FEZ (Free Economic Zone)

On the ten-year anniversary of the FEZ system, the Korean Government evaluated the past achievements and introduced a Master Plan for Free Economic Zones (Jul 2013), which presents a blueprint for the development of FEZs over the next decade based on an analysis of internal and external environment changes. This plan is expected to enable more systematic and efficient development of FEZs an date2014-12-29

Export Control

An exporter needs to obtain an export license if a product and/or technology involved in the transaction is classified as strategic. All export control-related tasks, including applying for export licenses, can be processed online through Yestrade. The self-classification service enables companies to determine by themselves whether the company’s products or services are subject to control. It should be noted, however, that self-classification for strategic technologies does not hold legal force. Therefore, when applying for export licenses for technologies, only the results of classification conducted by a classification agency (e.g. KOSTI) can be verified as a supplementary document. When a foreign exporter requires a certificate proving the credibility of an end-use/user from an importing party, the importer can apply for an Import Certificate issued by the Korean Government. The government issues Korea Import Certificates to confirm that the supply in question is imported and used by Korea as declared in the contract. date2014-12-29

Compliance Program

date2014-12-29

MOTIE Hosts Foreign Investment Week 2014

About 300 foreign investors from 22 countries, including companies such as General Electric Aviation, Boeing, Solvay, and Goldman Sachs, are participating in the event, as well as journalists from 25 countries and business leaders of foreign-invested companies in South Korea. date2014-10-31

Reducing the burden on companies in the Foreign Investment Zone by half

Promotion Division (044- 203-4083) date2014-08-28

Korea’s ICT Exports Continue to Show Robust Growth in the 2nd Half of 2014

date2014-08-07

Export and Import Trends for July of 2014

In 2014, prompted by the recovery of the advanced economies, Korea recorded an export growth and the largest ever import growth. * Export growth rate (%): ('14.3) 3.7 → (4) 8.9 → (5) -1.4 → (6) 2.5 → (7) 5.7 * Import growth rate (%): ('14.3) 3.6 → (4) 5.0 → (5) 0.3 → (6) 4.1 → (7) 5.8 Exports to the US (petrochemicals and mobile devices) and EU (automotive and mobile devices) grew thanks to the recovery of the advanced economies, and exports to Japan in particular (oil products and steel) saw a turnaround towards growth over the three months. Imports of raw materials, capital goods and commodities grew, with raw materials leading the import growth. Among raw materials (61% of Korea’s imports), imports of crude oil (unit price hikes) and oil products (naphtha and bunker fuel oil C) grew. Among capital goods (28% of Korea‘s imports), imports of equipment for semiconductor manufacturing, car parts and parts for mobile devices grew. Among commodities (11% of Korea‘s imports), automotive imports conspicuously grew. Korea’s exports continued to grow in July thanks to robust exports to the advanced economies, although the fact that exports to China have declined for three consecutive years is worrying. As a matter of urgency, government bodies will be working together to respond to the slowdown in exports to China. It is expected that Korea’s exports will continue to grow thanks to the recovery of the advanced economies. date2014-08-04

FDI Trend for the 1st Half of 2014

The amount declared was USD 10.33 billion, with year-on-year growth of 29.2% (from USD 8 billion in the previous year). The amount received was USD 7.2 billion, with year-on-year growth of 55.9% (from USD 4.62 billion in the previous year). The materials and parts sector accounted for 87.0% (USD 3.01 billion) of FDI going to manufacturing, with year-on-year growth of 84.7%. It is expected that FDI will contribute to improvement in the value chain.* ● This is the process whereby value adds are created during business activities. Investments in materials and parts manufacturers in Korea, and in domestic large enterprises that generate demand, are contributing to the creation of a self-contained industrial ecosystem in Korea. FDI from China and the EU grew by 200.2% and 31.1%, respectively, to USD 2.39 billion and USD 3.26 billion, while FDI from the US and Japan declined by 0.4% and 15.2%, respectively, to USD 2.51 billion and USD 1.15 billion. Most notably, as the food industry and the cultural content industry have evolved new investment models in China, it is expected that advances into China by Korean businesses will increase through local cooperation. The M&A and greenfield investment approaches to FDI saw growth of 41.5% and 20.4% respectively, to USD 4.73 billion and USD 5.61 billion. date2014-07-23

Korea Records USD 33.7 Billion in Contracts

Korea Records USD 33.7 Billion in Contracts for Overseas Plants in the 1st Half of 2014 The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Minister Yoon Sang-jick) announced that Korea had recorded a historic-high contract amount for overseas plants in the 1st half of 2014, amounting to USD 33.7 billion. It is even more meaningful that this achievement was reached considering the numerous challenges, such as political uncertainty in Middle Eastern markets including Iraq and the decline in contracts date2014-07-15