Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea and Japan discuss bilateral R&D cooperation

Korea’s Director General for Industrial Technology Convergence Policy Je Kyung-hee held a meeting with Kikukawa Jingo, Director General for Innovation and Environment Policy at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, today in Seoul and discussed government policies for innovation, measures for private-sector R&D investment support, and technological cooperation with the incoming U.S. administration. date2025-01-13

Korea to boost industrial technology innovation via bilateral collaboration with Israel and Japan

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea held bilateral meetings with the Israel Innovation Authority and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry today, respectively, to discuss measures for high-tech cooperation. During the Korea-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation (KORIL-RDF) board of directors videoconference, Korea’s Director General for Industrial Technology Convergence Policy Je Kyung-hee and Dror Bin, CEO, at the Israel Innovation Authority reviewed the two countries’ joint projects slated for this year in areas like artificial intelligence (AI), quantum cryptography communication, semiconductors, autonomous driving, and bio, agreeing to make joint effort for smooth progress. The two countries are currently engaging in industrial, academic, and R&D collaboration via joint R&D support and technical seminars based on a joint annual funding of USD 8 million through the binational KORIL-RDF established in 2001. At present, 16 joint R&D projects are underway and seven new projects are in line for 2025. It is anticipated that the two countries can look forward to creating synergy by combining Korea’s leading manufacturing base and Israel’s powerful startup business ecosystem and technology talents in advanced industries like cybersecurity, AI, and semiconductors. Prior to the Korea-Israel videoconference, Director General Je also held a meeting with Kikukawa Jingo, Director General for Innovation and Environment Policy at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. They discussed government policies for innovation, measures for private-sector R&D investment support, and technological cooperation with the incoming U.S. administration. Sharing an understanding on the need for cooperation amid the changing industrial technology landscape, both sides agreed to expand the scope of joint research and bilateral industrial, academic, and R&D exchanges going forward while seeking further areas for collaboration.   date2025-01-13

Minister Ahn meets Atlantic Council Global Energy Center’s Distinguished Fellow Julia Nesheiwat

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea held talks with Atlantic Council Global Energy Center’s Distinguished Fellow Julia Nesheiwat on January 9 (local time) in Washington D.C. to discuss Korea-U.S. cooperation in shipbuilding. date2025-01-13

Minister Ahn attends meeting with NAM representatives

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea attended a roundtable meeting with National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) representatives on January 9 (local time) in Washington D.C. to discuss measures for Korea-U.S. cooperation in advanced industries. date2025-01-13

Minister Ahn visits SK hynix Cheongju Campus

Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea visited SK hynix Cheongju Campus today where he took stock of the export and investment environment and held a conference with relevant companies. At today’s conference, attendees shared their forecast for next year’s semiconductor industry trends and exports and exchanged views on the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster project, MPE (materials, parts, equipment) R&D support, and chip manpower training. date2024-12-30

Trade Minister chairs 58th Industrial Technology Protection Committee meeting

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea chaired the 58th Industrial Technology Protection Committee meeting on December 27 in Seoul for deliberation and resolution on agenda items like the fifth Comprehensive Plan on Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology and the proposed export permit on national high-tech strategic technologies and national core technologies. The meeting was attended by approximately 20 committee members composed of relevant ministries, Korea Automotive Technology Institute (KATECH), Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET), Korea University, and other experts. date2024-12-30

Korean government to make last spurt backing chip exports & investment for 2024

Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea visited SK hynix Cheongju Campus today where he took stock of the export and investment environment and held a conference with relevant companies.  The Cheongju campus was initially SK hynix’s NAND flash production base, but with the recent introduction of through-silicon via (TSV) technology equipment, it is set to transform into a site for producing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) which will play a key role in the AI era. Once SK Hynix completes the Cheongju M15X fab in November as scheduled, the fab will serve as the production base for HBM DRAMs as well. At today’s conference, attendees shared their forecast for next year’s semiconductor industry trends and exports and exchanged views on the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster project, MPE (materials, parts, equipment) R&D support, and chip manpower training. The Korea Semiconductor Industry Association (KSIA) projected that despite difficult conditions, this year’s chip exports will surpass USD 140 billion, higher than the record of $129.2 billion reached in 2022. Attendees further expressed special interest and support towards Trinity Fab, a testbed for securing anchor MPE technologies for advanced semiconductors. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) stated that with the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster’s power and water supply agreement being signed in November and enforcement plans for Korea’s national industrial complexes having obtained approval three months earlier than expected, all related procedures are making good progress. Minister Ahn underscored that in spite of the domestic political situation and other internal and external uncertainties, the Government will maintain its unwavering support for the semiconductor industry.   date2024-12-30

Trade Minister chairs 58th Industrial Technology Protection Committee meeting

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea chaired the 58th Industrial Technology Protection Committee (“Committee”) meeting today in Seoul for deliberation and resolution on six agenda items, including the fifth Comprehensive Plan on Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology and the proposed export permit on national high-tech strategic technologies and national core technologies, as well as measures for usage of cloud service for national core technologies. First, the Committee established and passed the fifth Comprehensive Plan on Prevention of Divulgence and Protection of Industrial Technology in view of the growing importance of technology protection amid the intensifying global race for technological hegemony and development of advanced technologies. With aim to enhance management of technologies for protection and technology-holding institutions, the Committee decided that technologies with a high need for protection are to be newly designated as national core technologies. These include promising technologies highly connected with national security and the national economy such as those for designing and manufacturing multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) and synthetic aperture radars (SAR). Meanwhile, national core technologies will be included in the scope of industrial technologies for protection under the Act on Special Measures for Strengthening the Competitiveness of Materials, Components, and Equipment Industries. Institutions holding national core technologies will also be closely managed. Companies projected to hold national core technologies will be swiftly distinguished through the technology holder confirmation and registration system, while the transfer of national core technologies will be systematically monitored. Second, areas under the current evaluation system deemed inadequate will be modified to proactively respond to the ever diversifying and evolving means of technology leakage. An expert committee for industrial technology protection will oversee the evaluation on M&A areas and modified rules will allow the Korean trade, industry and energy minister to issue ex officio orders for suspension, prohibition, and restitution with regard to unauthorized or undeclared exports. As Korean companies’ exports of national core technologies are on the rise, modifications on the export deliberation system will be made to a limited extent to avoid aggravating burden on exporters. For the export of core technologies with low risk of technology leakage, the process will either be partially streamlined or exporters will be granted exemption from deliberation procedures. Moreover, to shorten the period of export deliberation, the technical evaluation period will be capped to 45 days with allowance for a one-time extension of another 45 days. Third, the existing laws for punishment on technology leakage will be strengthened while legal grounds will be laid down for punishment on acts of introducing, brokering, and attracting technology leakage in order to eliminate all blind spots. Fourth, efforts will be made to bolster the security level of relatively more vulnerable universities and SMEs through catered support like the development of security infrastructure and security consulting services. In addition, relevant ministries will join hands to establish a more substantial protection system for better national R&D management and stronger protection of startups. As most technology leakages manifest through human resources, effort will go toward enhancing the management and support of key talents. Key talents in charge of national core technologies will be distinguished using big data analysis and information will be swiftly shared with relevant institutions in the case of technology leakage emergency. The Committee also discussed measures on the usage of cloud service for national core technologies to resolve i date2024-12-27

Korea’s retail industry rises 8.0% in November

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced today that Korea’s retail industry grew 8.0 percent year-on-year for the month of November 2024, with offline and online sales advancing 3.9 and 11.8 percent, respectively. MOTIE's monthly retail sales figures are based on surveys of 23 major retailers. Thirteen of them are brick-and-mortar retailers: three department store chains, three hypermarket chains, three convenience store chains, and four super supermarket (SSMs) operators. The remaining 10 are online retailers. By offline retail channel, hypermarket sales increased 5.7 percent, with demand for home dining and kimchi-making driving sales of food products (up 10.2 percent), while home/living (down 2.1 percent) and non-food categories (down 3.7 percent) fell. Department store sales improved 1.4 percent on the backs of food products (up 3.8 percent) and foreign designer labels (up 7.8 percent), while fashion categories like miscellaneous goods (down 3.5 percent) and women’s suits (down 7.1 percent) continued to drop. Convenience store sales saw growth across both food (up 5.9 percent) and non-food products (up 4.1 percent), increasing 5.1 percent overall. SSM operators enjoyed sales growth of 6.8 percent centering on demand for food products (up 7.5 percent) thanks to the home dining trend and kimchi-making, but non-food products (down 0.6 percent) maintained their downward slope. Online retail sales surged 11.8 percent overall as food products (up 19.1 percent) and service/other (up 70.7 percent) achieved steady growth on the backs of robust demand for processed food products, convenience foods, food delivery services, travel packages, and e-coupons. Meanwhile, home appliances/electronics (down 9.9 percent), fashion/clothing (down 9.1 percent), and sports (down 10.7 percent) experienced declines due to impact from overseas direct purchases (ODP).   date2024-12-23

Minister Ahn visits Samsung Display's Asan plant

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea visited the Samsung Display plant in Asan on December 20 and toured the OLED panel production site and discussed OLED exports promotion policies with business leaders. date2024-12-20