Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Automobile Industry Trends for October 2015

    □ South Korean automobile production, exports, and domestic sales numbers grew by 11.1 percent, 7.5 percent, and 18.6 percent, respectively, from a year earlier, led by a rise in exports of major export models. Domestic sales increased due to a reduction in the country’s individual consumption tax, the effect of new model launches, and strong sales of multi-purpose vehicles.   □ : Production rose by 11.1 percent from a year earlier to 405,167 units. This was caused by a decline in output following a strike in the previous year, along with a rise in domestic sales and strong exports of cars made by Kia.   □ : Domestic sales grew by 18.6 percent from a year earlier to 164,507 units. This was led by a cut in the country’s individual consumption tax, new models of the Avante, the Sportage, and others, and a steady rise in sales of multi-purpose vehicles, such as the Santa Fe, the Tucson, and the Tivoli.   - Sales of imported cars surged by 18.3 percent from a year earlier to 21,229 units. They fell by 12.7 percent over the month due to the Volkswagen emissions scandal.   □ : Exports increased by 7.5 percent from a year earlier to 259,306 units, reflecting a rise in exports of key models such as the Accent, the Soul, and the Tucson.   □ Exports of auto parts fell by 7.5 percent from a year earlier to USD 2.27 billion. This was attributable to recording their largest-ever increase in the same month in 2014. Continuing economic slowdowns in emerging countries also played a major role.   date2015-11-30

Department store sales hit record high in October 2015 after 3 years

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 26 that department store sales in October rose by 11.4 percent --- a record-high in three years --- compared to the same period of last year thanks to large-scale sale events.     This is the second time that department sales recorded a two-digit increase since August last year, when the sales rose by 10.8 percent. Department stores in Korea recorded a -1.8 percent sales increase from January to September this year.     Home appliance sales rose the most at 26.6 percent, followed by men's clothes (13.8 percent), imported brand items (12.4 percent) and women's dress (12.3 percent).     Convenience store sales also rose by 35.1 percent from the same period of last year. It's largely due to sale events, increased cigarette prices, PB sales increase and increased number of stores.     However, supermarket and SSM sales dropped by 0.5 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively. This is because of decreased food sales since the Korean holiday season.     * Short version date2015-11-26

$ 127 mil to be invested in the development of wearable products over 5 years

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that the MOTIE and Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning will invest a total of 127 billion won ($114 million) over a period of 5 years in the promotion of the smart wearable industries.     Of the 127 billion, 111 billion won will be used in the development of wearable material and parts technology and 16 billion won in building support centers for commercialization.     The wearable technology market is sti date2015-11-25

Self-driving cars and drones controlled from 400km away now available

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 23 that with the support of the government, 7 universities and Hyundai Motor held the "Future Growth Engine Challenge Parade", where 7 self-driving cars completed the mission of driving from Yeongdong Bridge to COEX.     The cars started driving 3 minutes apart from each other to: 1) Recognize speed limits and signs while driving, 2) Recognize and stay on the lanes, 3) Recognize traffic signals and stop accordingly, 4) Change lanes and load passengers, 5) Recognize pedestrians and stop and go accordingly and 6) Evade parked vehicles.     Unlike the self-driving cars using GPS, the cars were driven based on video technology with which to control the cars indoors. The cars are designed to recognize the location with an error rate of within 15cm.     The parade was followed by drones. For the first time in Korea, drones in Marado Island were controlled 400km away in COEX, and full HD videos were transmitted on a real-time basis.     In particular, one operator was able to control a total of 5 drones at once to show that group flying is also possible.     The self-driving car and drone parades will be held again on November 29, 2015 at COEX.     * Short version date2015-11-23

K-Sale Day to be held to attract more consumers

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on November 19 that the "K-Sale Day" will be held from November 20 to December 15.     This event will be participated by a total of 72 departments, large supermarkets, convenience stores, member companies of the Federation of Distribution Industry, online shopping malls, large manufacturers, retailers and food service providers.     Various items including home supplies, appliances, food, electronics and clothes will be available at between 10 and 50 percent discount.     For more information, visit www.k-saleday.com.     * Short version date2015-11-19

The 2015 Engineering Education Festival to be held for engineers, manufacturers, and people

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 18 that it will sponsor the "2015 Engineering Education Festival" to be held at the Daegu EXPO between November 18 and 19. It will be held for the fourth time to encourage and support engineering students, and show a guideline for them to enter the industry after their graduation.     During the festival, engineering students at the Gachon University showcased a solution that can automatically maintain the balance of the stretcher. Their idea was to install angle and vibration sensors on the stretcher to help the medical staff always maintain the horizontal level.     The students received the Prime Minister's Award for their invention at the festival.     Meanwhile, students at the Korea University of Technology & Education introduced a new embedded system for musicians. Using this system, an LED display can be embedded on a guitar to show the notes so that the guitarist doesn't have to have a sheet music to practice the music. Including these two, a total of five inventions received the MOTIE Award.     At the festival, college students can compete with their new and innovative engineering ideas, show their capstone designs and also get the chance to participate in global engineering conferences.     This year's festival was participated by more than 20,000 students and professors from over 120 colleges of engineering, as well as engineers from Hyundai Motor and LG Electronics.     * Short version date2015-11-18

The 2nd special sale season to be launched for Chinese online shoppers

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 10 that Korean online shopping malls have agreed to launch the 2nd Special Sale Season for Chinese shoppers between November 26 and 28.     In the first season between August 19 and 21, a total of 17 Korean online shopping malls put their items on discount, and more than 410,000 Chinese shoppers visited their sites and purchased over 1.5 billion won ($1.35 million) worth of goods, which is about 3.7 times more than the total sales during the same period in the previous year.     The only problem was that a majority of Chinese is not familiar with these sites.     To remedy this situation, they have recruited five big online shopping malls that are currently operating in China in addition to 19 shopping malls operating in South Korea, so more Chinese will be aware of the sale season.     This time the online shopping malls will promote their sale by using web ads, with the appearance of the "hallyu star" Lee Da-Hae, a Korean actress popular in China.     * Short version date2015-11-10

MOTIE and the Police to work together for public safety

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 02 that MOTIE and Korean National Police Agency signed an MOU on the same day at the Korean National Police Agency to work together in building a safe society and promote the security industries.     According to the MOU, the two agencies will cooperate in the areas of R&D, commercialization of R&D results, global marketing, mutual cooperation in each other’s R&D activities and human resources exchange, particularly in industry growth engine projects for the future such as patrol car integration system that enables voice and touch command by using IoT and scanners for the preservation and analysis of materials through real-time identification and 3D configuration of the obstacles and risks at the crime scenes.     MOTIE and Korean National Police Agency plan to apply the latest technologies in the security industries and replace the old police equipment with new ones, while also developing new equipment for which the Korean police has been dependent on imports.     The aim is to turn the security industries as a future growth engine by tapping into the global market while also creating new markets.     * Short version date2015-11-02

Electricity Sales in 3Q and Retail Sales Trends in September 2015

Electricity Sales in 3Q and Retail Sales Trends in September 2015   Electricity Sales Trends in 3Q □ In 3Q, the total volume of electricity sales increased 2.4% from a year earlier, which is the most since 4Q in 2013. It is attributable to consumer sentiment recovery and heat wave.   2. Sales Trends by Major Retailers in September □ All major retailers showed increases in sales due to Korean Thanksgiving holidays in September. ㅇIn the third quarter of 2015, the sales of h date2015-10-30

Automobile Industry Trends for September 2015

    □ The volume of South Korean automobile production, exports, and domestic sales grew by 13.5 percent, 3.5 percent, and 16.3 percent, respectively, from a year earlier. This was attributed to a reduction in the country’s individual consumption tax, strong sales of multi-purpose vehicles such as SUVs and minivans, and satisfactory growth in exports of key export models such as the Accent, the Pride, and the Trax.   □ : Production increased by 13.5 percent from a year earlier to 333,759 units, despite a 26-hour strike at Hyundai Motor. This rise was partly attributable to the effects of another strike the year before, along with satisfactory growth in both domestic sales and exports.   □ : Domestic sales went up by 16.3 percent from a year earlier to 149,327 units. This was attributable to the continuing popularity of multi-purpose vehicles, such as the Santa Fe, the Sorento, the Trax, and the Tivoli. Other reasons were a reduction in the country’s individual consumption tax and the introduction of new Avante, Sportage, and other new-car models.   - Sales of imported cars increased by 37.0 percent from a year earlier to 24,323 units. They also rose by 18.3percent from a month earlier   □ : Exports increased by 3.5 percent from a year earlier to 203,762 units. This was mainly attributable to strong performances by key export models such as the Accent, the Pride, and the Trax.   □ Exports of auto parts rose by 5.0 percent from a year earlier to USD 2.13 billion. This was largely attributed to an increase in overseas sales of Korean-based finished vehicles.   date2015-10-30