Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Trade Minister meets Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Commerce and Investment

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Commerce and Investment Majid bin Abdullah Al-Kassabi on January 23 in Switzerland on the margins of the 2025 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos and discussed bilateral trade issues and economic cooperation. date2025-02-03

APEC private steering committee launch ceremony

Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea attended the launching ceremony of the private steering committee for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit Korea 2025 on January 23 in Seoul to take stock of preparations and committee plans and encouraged business leaders’ active cooperation for Korea’s successful hosting of this year’s APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM). The ceremony was attended by the committee’s chair Chey Tae-won and other members. date2025-02-03

Trade Minister meets GCC Secretary General

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi on January 22 in Switzerland on the margins of the 2025 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos and discussed measures for stronger economic cooperation. date2025-02-03

Trade Minister meets ASEAN Secretary-General

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn on January 22 in Switzerland on the margins of the 2025 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos and discussed measures for stronger economic cooperation. date2025-02-03

Trade Minister meets Philippines’ Secretary of Trade and Industry

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met Philippines’ Secretary of Trade and Industry Cristina Aldeguer-Roque 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 issues. date2025-02-03

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