Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

The Korea Industry Fair to exhibit smart manufacturing technologies

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on October 28 that the Korea Industry Fair, which became the largest convention of capital goods suppliers in the country after the Korea Machine Fair, Seoul International Tool Exhibition and Korea Metal Week were integrated into one in 2011, will be held from October 28 to 31, 2015 with the participation of 1,286 companies from 34 countries.     The exhibition will include machines, robots, 3D printing and evolution of smart manufacturing technologies.     While many Korean companies will present their smart manufacturing machines and systems using IoT, Siemens from Germany will show their smart factory models.     Some of the participating companies will also introduce their industrial robots, service robots and 3D printers.     * Short version date2015-10-28

Weizmann Institute of Science to transfer its core proprietary technologies to Korean companies

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on October 23 that Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science, one of the world's top five institutes for science, will transfer more than 100 of its core proprietary technologies to Korean companies as a result of the MOU signed between the Korea-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation and the Weizmann Institute of Science and Yozma Group.     According to the MOU, the Weizmann Institute of Science will transfer some of its core pr date2015-10-23

MOTIE holds a groundbreaking ceremony for the Industrial-Academic Convergence District in Dangjin

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on October 21 that it held a groundbreaking ceremony for the "Industry-University Convergence Area" on October 21 at the Seongmun National Industrial Complex with the participation of over 200 related persons.     Its plan is to build both a university campus and research institute, and launch various industry-academic cooperation programs by injecting a total of 45.5 billion won ($40 million) into the project by 2018.     The campus will be completed in 2016 and ready to provide task-oriented training for the first semester of 2017 for the 512 faculty members and students of the Materials Science and Engineering, Information and Communication Engineering, and Robotic Automation Engineering departments.     Advanced technical training courses will also be available for more than 460 professionals currently working in the respective industries.     The Convergence Institute will receive more than 50 resident SME's with a high growth potential, and these companies will enjoy the benefit of the joint R&D projects to be carried out by professors and students.     The Seongmun National Industrial Complex is expected to contribute to the economic growth of Chungcheongnam-do along with other industrial complexes in the area.     * Short version date2015-10-21

MOTIE and Samsung to commercialize robots for micro and precision assembly

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on October 19 that starting from the end of this year, it will invest a total of 16.75 billion won ($15 million) in the development of core robot parts and robot systems that can be used for micro and precision assembly.     In this project, Samsung Electronics will play the role of proposing robot specifications, product verification, providing technical consulting small and medium-sized suppliers of in robots and robot part date2015-10-19

MOTIE Minister Yoon Attends Completion Ceremony for PE Factory by SK and Sabic

      Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick attended the ceremony for the completion of a new industrial plan to manufacture a range of high-performance polyethylene products in Ulsan, South Korea, yesterday.   The plant is a joint venture between SK Global Chemical Co. and Saudi Arabia's SABIC, whose top officials, including SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and SABIC Chairman Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thenayan Al-Saud, attended the ceremony.   For more information about the 50-50 joint venture holding company, please check the related news by Aran News: date2015-10-08

Sales Trends by Major Retailers in August 2015

  □ The sales by major retailers, including those of hypermarkets, department stores and super supermarkets, fell from a year earlier, while those of convenience stores increased in Aug. 2015. □ The sales of hypermarkets and department stores increased for two consecutive months while that of convenience stores increased drastically for four consecutive months. □By product group, the sales of food, clothing, and miscellaneous goods decreased   date2015-09-30

Automobile Industry Trends for August 2015

    □ The volume of South Korean automobile domestic sales and production increased by 13.2 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively, while exports decreased by 0.7%. This was attributed to new car model launches such as Spark and K5 and economic recession in emerging markets.   □ : Production increased by 4.3 percent from a year earlier to 284,803 units despite reduced exports and fewer operating days. This rise was mainly attributable to expanded domestic demand and base effect from last year when partial strikes took place.   □ : Domestic sales increased by 13.2 percent from a year earlier to 139,327 units. This was attributable to strong sales of multi-purpose vehicles and release of new models.   - Sales of imported cars increased by 24.7 percent from a year earlier to 20,564 units.   □ : Exports decreased by 0.7 percent from a year earlier to 181,915 units. This was mainly attributable to weakened competitive edge due to Yen and Euro depreciation and demand contraction in emerging markets such as Russia and Latin America.   date2015-09-30

Stepping stone project to create USD 2.7 bil market by 2017

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on September 30 that it is currently carrying out a total of 12 stepping stone projects, and has recently selected businesses to achieve some of the objectives with the aim to create a 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion) market with the projects by 2017.     A stepping stone project is where new technologies or products are introduced by using the interim results of various government R&D projects that are being carried out in order to develop new future growth engines.     One of the characteristics of this stepping stone project is that both the consumer and developer participate in the technology development activities.     In the case of the Hospital Logistics Robot Project, both the robot manufacturers and domestic university hospitals test the prototypes in order to develop the technologies that are actually helpful to the hospital. They started carrying out the R&D activities at the end of last year, and plan to introduce new products in the second half of next year.     The Fishfinder Drone Development Project is also carried out by both domestic airlines and owners of deep-sea fishing vessels, so that the vessel owners can propose the technology standards necessary for navigation and support test operation.     The project objective is to develop tilt rotor drones suitable for flying over the ocean with the task of finding schools of fish. A prototype will be available for testing by offshore fishing boats.     MOTIE also announced that it plans to organize and operate a special support team for the industrialization of stepping stone projects within its R&D Strategic Planning Team to make the project successful, and send PD's with business experience in the area of robotics to the R&D sites to support the businesses involved in the projects.     * Short version date2015-09-30

MOTIE Opens Special Store to Promote Local Premium Goods Overseas at Lotte World Mall

      The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) opened a special store to promote the sale of global premium goods such as kitchenware, watches and toys made by local exporters at the Lotte World Mall in Seoul yesterday.   The opening of the special store is the Korean government's latest effort to support local companies to develop 100 global premium goods by 2017 for the competitiveness of the country's personal and household goods industry.   MOTIE Minister Yoon Sang-jick attended the opening ceremony at the country's biggest shopping mall and pledged all government support necessary to facilitate the exports of these high-quality products. date2015-09-24

MOTIE 1st Vice Minister Lee Holds Presser with Alibaba's Vice Chairman

    MOTIE's 1st Vice Minister Lee Kwan-sup held a press conference with Alibaba Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai in Seoul this week on China's biggest e-commerce company's global business strategy.   In related news, Samsung C&T Corp. is expected to launch its fast-fashion brand 8 Seconds on Alibaba's Tmall platform in 2016, reports China Daily: date2015-09-18