Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Today in Seoul, Vice Minister Namho Choe of the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) attended the Korea-Czech Republic Energy Technology Forum (“Forum”), which was co-hosted by MOTIE and the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade and co-organized by the Korea Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) and the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TACR).

The Forum was held with the participation of the Czech Minister for Industry and Trade Lukáš Vlček, TACR Chairman Petr Konvalinka, and KETEP President Lee SeungJae among roughly 150 attendees comprising both countries’ industry, academia, and research experts and government officials for discussions on measures for bilateral cooperation in energy technology.

During the presentation session, Korean and Czech experts shared the latest technology trends and proposed future technology collaboration measures centering on power grids and energy storage systems (ESS) in addition to carbon-free energy areas like nuclear power and clean hydrogen. In the following panel discussions and networking session, participants had the opportunity to broaden the scope of their mutual understanding spanning various technology fields and make progress in the search for joint projects.

In his welcome address, Vice Minister Choe noted the Czech Republic’s status as the manufacturing powerhouse of Central Europe and highlighted that the two countries can avail themselves of meaningful opportunities amid the carbon neutrality challenge by generating synergy between Korean and Czech businesses. He added that full measure will be given towards creating new businesses in energy areas as well through continued support for joint research based on close bilateral cooperation.

MOTIE plans to further develop the cooperation measures discussed during today’s Forum via consultation with relevant Czech authorities in selecting new Korea-Czech projects for international joint research.