Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Trade Minister meets leader of Japan’s Democratic Party For the People

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met Yuichiro Tamaki, the leader of Japan’s Democratic Party For the People (DPFP), on January 22 in Switzerland on the margins of the 2025 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos and discussed bilateral trade and economic issues and cooperation measures. date2025-02-03

Trade Minister meets Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio on January 22 in Switzerland on the margins of the 2025 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos and discussed bilateral economic cooperation. date2025-02-03

Trade Minister meets France’s Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met Laurent Saint-Martin, France’s Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad, on January 22 in Switzerland on the margins of the 2025 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos and discussed joint measures for responding to global trade uncertainties. date2025-02-03

Trade Minister Cheong discusses key trade issues with major economies at WEF 2025 in Davos

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea met with counterparts of various economies at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, for discussions on stronger cooperation. He also attended the session on trade and investment leadership and the informal World Trade Organization (WTO) trade ministerial meeting to share ways to foster a more stable and predictable trade environment. First, Trade Minister Cheong held bilateral talks with counterparts of other major economies such as ASEAN, France, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Japan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and the UK regarding the changing global trade landscape and reaffirmed a shared understanding for maintaining cooperation within the global trade order. Moreover, he explained how Korea is operating stably in terms of its economy and national security despite recent political uncertainties and highlighted Korea’s aims to advance cooperation with each country on the margins of the upcoming 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit. With European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič, Trade Minister Cheong discussed accelerating the Korea-EU Digital Trade Agreement (DTA) negotiations. Trade Minister Cheong also emphasized that the introduction of new labor and environmental regulations in EU should be carried out in a non-discriminatory manner. With Vice Minister for International Affairs Matsuo Takehiko at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the trade chief  took stock of the forward-looking development of Korea-Japan relations and cooperation momentum affirmed during the bilateral high-level trade talks held last December and reviewed the two countries’ joint progress in supply chains and digital areas. In his talks with ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn and the Philippines’ Secretary of Trade and Industry Cristina Aldeguer-Roque, Trade Minister Cheong discussed the ASEAN-ROK Think Tank Dialogue on Economic & Trade Policy (AKTD) on the occasion of the upcoming APEC trade ministerial meeting in May as well as key trade issues and measures for Korea-ASEAN trade expansion.   Through bilateral talks with UK’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds, New Zealand’s Deputy Secretary Trade and Economic Vangelis Vitalis, and GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Commerce and Investment Majid bin Abdullah Al-Kassabi, and Bahrain’s Minister of Industry and Commerce Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Trade Minister Cheong discussed Korea’s respective Free Trade Agreement (FTA) agendas with each economy and confirmed the importance of free bilateral trade. In addition, with Laurent Saint-Martin, France’s Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad, he exchanged views on electric vehicle (EV) subsidies and other agendas of mutual interest. Following the bilateral talks, Korea’s trade minister took part in the session on trade and investment leadership on January 23, where various economies’ trade ministers and global CEOs engaged in in-depth discussions on future impact from the newly inaugurated U.S. administration’s trade policies, and urged the need for further dialogue in the international community. During the informal WTO trade ministers’ meeting on January 24, the trade minister expressed Korea’s strong commitment to upholding an open and inclusive trade system as this year’s APEC chair and emphasized the need to reinforce the multilateral trade system amid the rise of protectionism, presenting key tasks concerning the WTO reform.  In his subsequent talks with WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, he articulated the need for the WTO's reform in addressing newly emerging trade issues like climate change and artificial intellige date2025-01-31

Trade Minister Cheong attends informal WTO trade ministerial meeting at WEF 2025

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong attended the informal WTO trade ministerial meeting on January 24 in Davos, Switzerland, on the margins of WEF 2025 and discussed the need to strengthen the multilateral trade system amid the global rise of protectionism with trade counterparts of 24 economies. date2025-01-31

Korea to carry forward innovative momentum towards export growth

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) held the CES 2025 Innovation Forum (“Forum”) today at COEX in Seoul.  The Forum was organized as public-private support for translating the innovative outcomes of Korean companies that gained recognition through the Consumer Electrics Show (CES) 2025 into a solid base for their global market entry. At this year’s CES, Korea saw the highest number of innovation awards go to its homegrown businesses, showcased the largest integrated Korean pavilion, reached a historic USD 0.35 billion in estimated export contract amount, and won a place among the new Global Innovation Champions. In view of these achievements, the Korean government launched the Forum to ensure the outcomes lead to actual exports through timely follow-up support. First, a debriefing session introduced the key takeaways of CES 2025 regarding some of the new industrial ecosystems and opportunities to be ushered in by artificial intelligence (AI), including robotaxi, energy, and healthcare. It was followed by a presentation session where five companies shared their CES innovation awards winning strategies and provided participants the opportunity to engage in export promotion activities, such as online export consultations. Meanwhile, various institutions introduced export and financial assistance programs aiming at innovative firms. KOTRA introduced its program providing catered support and preferential treatment for innovative domestic companies as well as assistance in setting up exclusive booths at major exhibitions, participation in Demo Day events, and Korean firms’ entry into global supply chains centering on K-Tech Camps. Also at the Forum were the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund (KODIT) and Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) offering guarantee support and financial solutions. Moreover, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) shared plans to support the exports of innovative businesses through NextRise 2025, Korea’s largest startup fair.   date2025-01-23

Trade Minister Cheong attends WEF 2025 at Davos

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea departed today to attend the 2025 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), held through January 20–24 in Davos, Switzerland, as the representative of the Korean government. Themed "Collaboration for the Intelligent Age," this year’s WEF brings together approximately 350 attendees comprising leaders, government representatives, international organization heads, and global CEOs for discussions on trade and investment among other various issues. On the margins of the event, Trade Minister Cheong will engage in bilateral talks with counterparts of more than 10 economies, including ASEAN, the EU, France, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Japan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and the UK. He will also take part in the session on trade and investment leadership with other trade ministers to raise awareness of the need to restore the multilateral trade system. During the informal WTO trade ministerial meeting on January 24, the trade minister will highlight the importance of enhancing the stability and predictability of the trade environment amid the rise of protectionism and such challenging conditions. Furthermore, he will be expressing Korea’s active commitment to these aims through its APEC chairmanship this year as a staunch supporter of the multilateral trade system.   date2025-01-21

Korea’s auto exports enter $70 bln thresholds for 2nd year running

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced today that Korea’s automobile exports for 2024 reached USD 70.8 billion, entering the $70 billion thresholds for the second year running.  Marking the second highest export record following the $70.9 billion set in 2023, the achievement is attributable to the strong performance of eco-friendly vehicles driven by the sharp growth of hybrid cars (up 45.8 percent year-on-year to $11.3 billion) despite the slowing global demand for electric vehicles. For the month of December 2024, automobile exports shrank 5.3 percent year-on-year to $6.0 billion as a consequence of safety inspections and parts manufacturing setbacks from the heavy November snow and unit export price falls from reduced EV exports. Meanwhile, overseas shipments of automobiles for the month of December rose to 251,847 units, continuing their strong upward trajectory. Korea’s annual automobile production recorded 4,128,447 units (down 2.7 percent) in 2024, 67 percent (2,782,639 units) of which were sold to overseas markets. Domestic sales in 2024 dropped 6.5 percent to 1,625,848 units as a result of dampened consumer confidence and weakened demand for EVs. However, the domestic sales of eco-friendly cars soared 18.2 percent to 650,122 units in 2024, four out of 10 newly sold cars being eco-friendly vehicles. Notably, hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) sales grew 32 percent year-on-year to 495,577 units, taking up 76 percent and 30 percent of Korea’s eco-friendly car sales and entire domestic car sales in 2024, respectively.   date2025-01-16

Korea’s annual ICT exports achieve new highs in 2024

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced on January 14 that exports of Korea’s information and communications technology (ICT) goods for 2024 logged an all-time high of USD 235.0 billion, surpassing the previous record set in 2022 ($233.2 billion). Annual ICT imports reached $143.2 billion and the trade balance stood at a surplus of $91.8 billion.  ICT exports have maintained an upward trajectory for 14 consecutive months, entering the $20 billion thresholds for five straight months since August 2024.  Semiconductor exports led overall ICT exports with a historic high of $142.0 billion, boosted by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) related goods. The double-digit growth of finished mobile phones and parts exports as well as the sharp growth of computers/peripherals’ solid-state drive (SSD) exports further contributed to last year’s ICT exports performance. By region, ICT exports to China (including Hong Kong) advanced 25.3 percent year-on-year to $97.9 billion in 2024, as robust demand for semiconductors, displays, and mobile phones spurred a powerful rebound from the previous year. To Vietnam (up 14.4 percent to $36.8 billion), semiconductors and mobile phones backed the rebound from the previous year, pushing overall ICT exports over the $30 billion thresholds for the fourth consecutive year. U.S.-bound ICT exports centered on semiconductors and computers/peripherals on the backs of demand for servers and datacenters, achieving fresh annual highs of $29.6 billion (up 31.9 percent). To the EU (up 11.4 percent to $12.2 billion), continued growth of mobile phones and computers/peripherals turned Korea’s ICT exports to an expansion. ICT exports to Japan (down 9.7 percent to $3.8 billion) fell despite the growth of displays and computers/peripherals, as exports of semiconductors and mobile phones shrank. Korea’s export and import of ICT goods for December 2024 recorded $22.7 billion and $13.3 billion, respectively, and the trade balance stood at a surplus of $9.3 billion. ICT exports for the month of December ranks highest among monthly exports in 2024, entering the $20 billion thresholds for the fifth consecutive month since August.   date2025-01-14

Minister Ahn meets U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea met U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn on January 9 (local time) in Washington D.C. to discuss stronger bilateral industrial, trade, and energy cooperation. date2025-01-13