Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea steps up support measures for reshoring companies in high-tech strategic industries

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced today that the enforcement of the following two amended public notices—the amended notice on support for reshoring companies (“Reshoring Notice”) and the amended notice on local government entities’ state funding criteria for attracting reshoring companies (“Reshoring Subsidy Notice”)—begins August 30 as part of follow-up to the Reshoring Company Support Strategy 2.0 (announced May 7) to invigorate reshoring in advanced industries. First, the amendments impose a higher cap on state funding for reshoring companies in industries categorized as “National Strategic” and “National High-Tech Strategic Technology.” Companies reshoring to Korea’s capital region will receive up to KRW 20 billion (up ₩5 billion), while those reshoring to non-capital regions will receive up to ₩40 billion (up ₩10 billion).  Second, newly added to the list of businesses eligible for the exemption of overseas subsidiary restructuring requirements are companies manufacturing items of national security concern, as well as those opting to reshore through cooperation with domestic buyers.  Third, with regard to reshored companies in advanced industries, the amended public notices have removed the restriction on making new overseas investments subsequent to receiving subsidies and being granted the exemption of abovementioned overseas restructuring requirements.  Fourth, the amendment provides subsidy priority to high-tech businesses that move into National High-Tech Strategic Industry and MPE (materials, parts, equipment) specialization complexes. Also, the reshoring of two or more companies will be recognized as joint reshoring as long as they have the same overseas business location—even when domestic locations differ— receiving up to a 5-percentage point increase in subsidy rates. According to MOTIE, a total of 13 Korean companies have reshored this year, and the public notice amendments are anticipated to spur further reshoring of firms in advanced industries, such as semiconductors, displays, and secondary batteries.   date2024-08-29

Talented youth and companies seeking win-win at Global Talent Fair 2024

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea is co-hosting the Global Talent Fair 2024 with the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) through August 27–28 at COEX in Seoul. The Global Talent Fair was launched to provide decent employment opportunities to job-seeking youth and connect quality talent with global businesses. As did last year, three existing job fairs were integrated into one and drew the participation of an unprecedented 400 companies. This year’s event newly showcases recruiting booths for semiconductors, secondary battery, and bio sectors to address young job-seekers’ keen interest towards employment in advanced industries. Launched in July, the Global Talent Supporters—a team comprising 20 undergraduate students—will support the job-seeking and original self-promotional activities of young talent through in-person interviews at companies and sharing of job market information. At the Global Talent Fair, job-seekers can access a variety of support programs, including one-on-one interviews with companies’ hiring managers, counseling, special lectures, success stories, and job briefings. They can also tap into one-stop information service on recruitment by foreign-invested firms and overseas companies lesser known than domestic counterparts. MOTIE’s Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong attended the opening ceremony and gave a congratulatory message, stating that “Korea is lately garnering attention as the nucleus of the supply chain for advanced industries like semiconductors and secondary batteries, with the nation’s human resources heightening investment attractiveness.” MOEL Minister Lee Jung-sik expressed hope that Global Talent Fair 2024 will foster mutual growth, helping companies recruit valuable talent and Korea’s youth achieve their goals.   date2024-08-27

Trade Minister attends Global Talent Fair 2024

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong attended the Global Talent Fair 2024 opening ceremony with Employment and Labor Minister on August 27 at COEX in Seoul with participation of 400 companies to support job-seeking youth’s employment. The trade minister gave a congratulatory message to encourage companies and youth, then toured the booths set up by recruiting companies date2024-08-27

Korea’s retail industry grows 6.3% in July

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced on August 27 that Korea’s retail industry grew 6.3 percent year-on-year (YoY) in July 2024, with sales declining 3.0 percent offline and increasing 16.9 percent online, 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. Offline sales were affected by the lower number of holidays (-2 days YoY) and frequent rains (+4 rainy days YoY), which led to sluggish department store sales (down 6.4 percent) and robust sales at convenience stores (up 2.9 percent) and SSMs (up 1.4 percent) as more consumers opted to shop closer to home. By offline retail channel, hypermarket sales dropped 7.9 percent overall and declined across all categories due to less holidays and more frequent rains, with food products and home appliances/culture down 5.2 percent and 13.7 percent, respectively. Department store sales sank 6.4 percent as the majority of categories fell, including foreign designer labels (down 11.0 percent), household goods (down 5.0 percent), and miscellaneous goods (down 4.0 percent). Convenience store sales rose 2.9 percent overall. Recurrent rains negatively impacted sales of coffee, water, and other beverages, while highballs, alcoholic beverages, and gimbap sales climbed, raising those of processed food (up 2.4 percent) and instant food products (up 2.3 percent) by a small margin. Meanwhile, the increased purchases of transit cards by foreign tourists are boosting the category labelled as “other” (up 3.4 percent). SSM operators showed an uptick of 1.4 percent in spite of the continued drop across nonfood items (down 3.9 percent), as sales expanded for agricultural, fishery, and livestock items (up 2.6 percent), processed food products (up 0.2 percent) and food items (up 1.9 percent). Online retail jumped 16.9 percent as the heat wave triggered demand for stamina health foods and sunscreen items, resulting in surging sales of food products (up 21.0 percent) and cosmetics (up 16.3 percent). Demand for food delivery services, detergent, and other daily household goods steadily advanced across categories like service/other (up 61.6 percent) and living furniture (up 12.8 percent), whereas sales of fashion/clothing (down 9.6 percent) and sports (down 7.8 percent) slowed.   date2024-08-27

Minister Ahn visits EO Technics

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn visited semiconductor and display laser and equipment manufacturer EO Technics in Anyang on August 20 after the meeting on the ministry’s Super Supplier Project, where he toured the production lines and encouraged workers. date2024-08-22

Korea boosts technical regulatory cooperation with Saudi Arabia and GCC

Director General Lee Chang-soo, in charge of technical regulatory response at the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), is heading the Korean delegation visiting Riyadh through August 11–13 to hold a meeting with the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) and the GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) for discussions on measures to strengthen technical regulatory cooperation. As Korea’s seventh largest trade partner, Saudi Arabia is high up on Korean companies’ list of attractive export destinations. Accordingly, KATS has been making long and consistent effort to push technical regulatory cooperation with SASO and GSO, entering into memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with each in 2008 and 2011, respectively. In January, a Saudi team visited Korea for the first time since the pandemic outbreak to give a briefing on technical regulatory policies and related updates. This visit to Riyadh is an extension of the above technical regulatory cooperation. Notably, domestic companies like LG Electronics and Hyundai Motor joined the delegation to take part in the meeting to provide in-person explanations of their challenges and discussed possible solutions. During the two-day meeting, the parties examined nine issues brought forward by Korean firms. Among the nine, three issues were resolved, including the requirements for minimum energy efficiency and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) exceeding 3.5 metric tons. The other six remain for further discussions, including the issue of EV certification.  Director General Lee stated that for other export destinations with which Korean firms require assistance in technical regulatory compliance, the Government will likewise make site visits to swiftly resolve issues.   date2024-08-21

Minister Ahn chairs Super Supplier Project Conference

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn chaired the Super Supplier Project Conference on August 20 at EO Technics in Anyang, where he announced the Korean government’s measures for nurturing materials, parts, and equipment (MPE) companies into “Super Suppliers” that are capable of wielding absolute dominance over the global supply chain. The conference was attended by representatives of domestic MPE firms and relevant institutions, including Jahwa Electronics, PI Advanced Materials, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT). date2024-08-20

MOTIE to launch Super Supplier Project

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn chaired the Super Supplier Project Conference on August 20 at EO Technics in Anyang, where he announced the Korean government’s measures for nurturing materials, parts, and equipment (MPE) companies into “Super Suppliers” that are capable of wielding absolute dominance over the global supply chain. The conference was attended by representatives of domestic MPE firms and relevant institutions, including Jahwa Electronics, PI Advanced Materials, Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT). The term "Super Supplier" (from Korean expression "Super Eul") refers to a market-leading company that has established a prominent status in the global supply chain based on unrivaled technological prowess. A good example of a super supplier would be the Dutch company ASML, the world’s exclusive producer of photolithography machines. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) plans to concentrate support to help homegrown MPE firms grow into super suppliers through the following triple “super” package: Super R&D, Super Pass, and Super Growth.  First, MOTIE will provide exclusive R&D support to MPE companies for their development of the world’s first or most advanced supply chain chokepoint technologies. The Super Supplier R&D Committee, composed of Korea’s top experts in areas of technology, market and investment, will evaluate companies based on their R&D growth strategy roadmap to select grant recipients of a seven-year program funding the R&D process from prior technology to commercialization to subsequent technology. For early commercialization and global market penetration, the ministry will manage a Super Pass program that threads together services in patenting, standardization, certification, global buyer matching, and export assistance. It will also give stronger backing for obtaining patent grants from the Trilateral Offices and prioritized support towards performance assessments on overseas mass production, while providing tailored export assistance programs by leveraging KOTRA’s market research and Global Partnering (GP) Centers. Furthermore, MOTIE intends to launch a Super Growth Package that offers financial, investment, and tax incentives as well as infrastructure support. In 2025, the Government will create a Super Supplier Growth Fund, while also making effort to increase the number of MPE testbeds and digital simulation platforms to reduce the materials development cycle time. In the fourth quarter of this year, MOTIE plans to announce its MPE Industry Growth Support Strategy incorporating additional measures based on opinions from industry insiders and experts.   date2024-08-20

Korea’s automobile exports log $5.4 bln in July

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that Korea’s automobile exports for the month of July 2024 reached USD 5.4 billion (down 9.1 percent year-on-year), coming in at an all-time second highest for the month of July. The accumulated value of automobile exports through January–July this year amounts to a historic $42.4 billion (up 2.0 percent year-on-year). July exports of automobile parts recorded $2.2 billion (up 9.5 percent), the first time in seven years and eight months to surpass the $2.2 billion mark. Meanwhile, the number of automobiles produced in Korea during July added up to 290,910 units (down 17.6 percent year-on-year). The decline is attributed to major domestic automakers’ wage and collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations, coinciding with summer breaks concentrated in the last week of July. Production is anticipated to revive in August along with the higher number of working days for the industry. Domestic sales contracted 2.7 percent to 132,396 units. Despite Korean automobiles falling 6.0 percent in domestic sales, the top 10 models sold in July were all homegrown cars. Eco-friendly car sales jumped 19.1 percent to 50,325 units, among which hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) showed a steep climb of 22.4 percent and led the green car market. With the Special Act on Future Automotive Parts Industry Transition and Ecosystem Development having entered into force on July 10 in Korea, MOTIE is mulling various measures to support domestic car parts companies’ transition to future mobility, while also actively seeking to resolve issues faced by exporting businesses.   date2024-08-16

Korea’s ICT exports rise 32.8% in July

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that Korea’s export and import of information and communication technology (ICT) goods reached USD 19.4 billion and $12.1 billion, respectively, for the month of July 2024. The trade balance stood at a surplus of $7.3 billion. Backed by robust exports of main items like semiconductors, displays, mobile phones, and computers/peripherals, ICT exports for July advanced 32.8 percent year-on-year, their growth rate entering the 30 percent thresholds for four months straight since April. Semiconductors (up 49.0 percent), displays (up 2.0 percent), mobile phones (up 69.4 percent), and computers/peripherals (up 51.1 percent) were among the major items driving growth. By region, exports were seen climbing across most destinations, including China (including Hong Kong) (up 31.1 percent), Vietnam (up 23.7 percent), the U.S. (up 40.1 percent), and the EU (up 23.5 percent). Meanwhile, Korea’s July import of ICT goods increased 6.0 percent year-on-year as demand for semiconductors, displays, and other key components increased.   date2024-08-16