Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea's retail industry grows 9.3% in H1 2022

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on July 28 that Korea’s overall retail sales in the first half of 2022 increased 9.3 percent. Offline and online retailers gained 8.4 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively. Retail sales for the month of June increased 9.2 percent, with both offline and online retailers experiencing growth, up 9.3 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively. The Ministry releases monthly retail sales figures based on surveys of 25 major retailers. Th date2022-07-28

Trade Minister attends IPEF Ministerial Meeting

Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun attended the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) Ministerial Meeting on July 26-27 via videoconferencing, which was co-hosted by U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, to exchange viewpoints prior to actual negotiations. The meeting was attended by ministerial-level officials of fourteen countries: South Korea, the U.S., Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Si date2022-07-27

426th Korea Trade Commission gives preliminary determination on anti-dumping investigations

The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) held the 426th Korea Trade Commission (hereinafter “Commission”) meeting on July 21, where Chairperson Chang Seung-wha announced a positive preliminary determination on anti-dumping investigations on imports of polyamide film from China, Thailand and Indonesia, as well as aluminum hydroxide from China and Australia, and proposed the imposing of provisional duties. First of all, the Commission determined that the amount of evidence date2022-07-26

Trade Minister attends Supply Chain Ministerial Meeting 2022

Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun attended the Supply Chain Ministerial Meeting 2022 on July 20 with South Korea’s Foreign Minister Park Jin, which was co-hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to discuss measures for enhancing global supply chain resilience and to adopt a joint statement. Convened via videoconferencing, the meeting was attended by ministers of the EU and 17 countries: South Korea, the U.S., Japan, France, Germany, Italy, date2022-07-21

BTS appointed as Honorary Ambassador for World EXPO 2030 Busan

Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun attended the ceremony for appointment of BTS as honorary ambassador for the World EXPO 2030 Busan, held on July 19 at HYBE in Yongsan-gu.   The popular South Korean boy band BTS (a.k.a. “Bangtan Boys”) was appointed the next ambassador for promoting Busan to be hosting World EXPO 2030 in recognition of the septet’s global influence.    The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry date2022-07-20

MOTIE announces amended cash grant program to attract FDI

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on July 18 the amended version of its Foreign Investment Committee (FIC)-approved cash grant program for stimulating foreign investment in high-tech and supply chain areas. The amendment is in line with the recently announced work report MOTIE submitted to President Yoon Suk-yeol regarding “growth-oriented industrial strategies,” which aim to bolster cash grant programs to increase FDI in strong spill-over sector date2022-07-19

Korea's auto exports value gains 3.2% in H1 2022

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on July 15 that Korea’s automobile output dropped 2.0 percent, while exports rose 1.5 percent by unit during the first six months (H1) of 2022. By value, exports increased 3.2 percent in H1 2022. Despite intensifying supply chain difficulties and domestic strikes of truckers, eco-friendly automobile exports and unit price increase are attributable factors of the growth. Automobile chips’ supply chain bottlenecks and China date2022-07-18

FDI pledges to Korea reach $11.1 billion in H1 2022

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on July 15 that foreign direct investments (FDIs) pledged to Korea in the first half of 2022 fell 15.6 percent year-on-year to USD 11.1 billion. FDIs that actually arrived in Korea over the same period also dropped 21.1 percent to $7.0 billion. In contrast, the number of pledges and arrivals both increased. Pledges and arrivals by count rose by 10.1 percent and 12.1 percent to 1,640 and 1,183, respectively. The decline in amount is a date2022-07-15

Korea's ICT exports hit all-time highs for both June and H1

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on July 14 that South Korea’s information and communications technology (ICT) industry exported a record amount of goods for both the month of June and for first half (H1) of 2022. For June, Korea’s ICT exports amounted to USD 20.7 billion (up 7.3 percent year-on-year), making it the highest exporting June in history. Imports stand at $13.1 (13.05) billion (up 23.3 percent), recording $7.7 (7.65) billion in trade surplus. date2022-07-14

1st Multilateral Trade Strategy Assessment Meeting

Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun held the 1st Multilateral Trade Strategy Assessment Meeting on July 12 at the Government Complex Sejong with relevant ministries and delegation of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea in Geneva (hereinafter 'Mission').  The Multilateral Trade Strategy Assessment Meeting has been launched to bolster the “one team, one voice” strategy of the South Korean government in terms of multilateral trade. In the past, trade issues were dealt through date2022-07-13