Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea and U.S. hold Telehealth / Telemedicine Showcase

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) held a Korea-U.S. Telehealth / Telemedicine Showcase (“Showcase”) on May 30 with aim to enhance mutual understanding and cooperation between the two countries’ digital health and telehealth industries as part of follow-up measures to the bilateral Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue (SCCD) held this March. Spurred by rapid aging and heightened quality of life, the global digital healthcare industry is forecast to reach USD 4.09 trillion by 2032 and mobile-based contactless healthcare is also gaining traction.   The Korea-U.S. joint Showcase was held with the participation of both countries’ digital health associations and companies, including the Korea Digital Health Industry Association, American Telemedicine Association, Korea’s contactless healthcare application and platform leaders Carelabs and LULUMedic, U.S.’ contactless healthcare leader Teladoc, and global healthcare company Baxter. The companies shared their business achievements and future plans, followed by a Q&A session.   A MOTIE official stated that the ministry is currently pushing policies for product and service commercialization support and talent training to nurture the digital health industrial ecosystem and that this Showcase will be an opportunity to build on the two countries’ digital health cooperation, adding that “Through the upcoming Bio 2024 (June 3-6), Korea and the U.S. will strengthen across-the-board cooperation in bio, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and MPE (materials, parts, equipment).” date2024-05-30

Korea's retail industry grows 10.8% in April

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on May 28 that Korea’s retail industry grew 10.8 percent year-on-year in April 2024, with offline sales inching down 0.2 percent and online sales soaring 22.2 percent, respectively.   MOTIE releases monthly retail sales figures based on surveys of 25 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 12 are online retailers.   Offline sales slid as supermarket discount promotions that were concentrated in April 2023 became relatively dispersed this year. Online sales increased on the backs of strong demand for convenience food products, travel packages, delivery services, and other various discounts.   By offline retail channel, hypermarket sales dropped 6.7 percent, as most items like home/living (down 13.9 percent), home appliances/culture (down 13.2 percent), miscellaneous goods (down 11.7 percent), and sports (down 10.8 percent) decreased, while sales of clothing (up 2.7 percent) increased.   Department store sales fell 2.0 percent as men’s clothing (down 7.8 percent), women’s suits (down 5.1 percent), kids/sports (down 3.7 percent), and foreign designer labels (down 3.3 percent) declined. Sales of household goods (up 2.9 percent) improved.   Convenience (up 5.9 percent) stores enjoyed growth across all items, especially for tobacco/other (up 5.5 percent), miscellaneous goods (up 3.7 percent), beverages/processed food products (up 7.3 percent), and instant food products (up 3.5 percent).   SSM operators gained 3.2 percent despite the shrink in daily necessities (down 8.2 percent), as sales of food products like agriculture, fishery, and livestock products (up 7.8 percent) and processed food products (up 1.0 percent) expanded.   Online sales jumped 22.2 percent, driven by the steep ascent of food products (up 28.1 percent), living/furniture (up 19.0 percent), and service/other (up 54.4 percent) with the rollout of various discounts. Meanwhile, sales of fashion/clothing (down 4.1 percent) decreased. date2024-05-28

Korea holds JTC3 Inaugural Plenary Meeting

Standards Policy Director General Oh Kwang-hae attended the Inaugural Plenary Meeting of the IEC/ISO JTC 3 (“JTC3”), to be held from May 28–30 at the Plaza Hotel Seoul, where approximately 100 representatives from 22 countries, including the U.S., UK, Germany, and China, gathered to discuss quantum technology development and standards strategies. date2024-05-28

Korea hosts Inaugural Plenary of JTC3 for standards development in quantum technology

The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) is holding the Inaugural Plenary Meeting of the IEC/ISO JTC 3 (“JTC3”) from May 28–30 at the Plaza Hotel Seoul with the participation of approximately 100 representatives from 22 countries, including the U.S., UK, Germany, and China.   Aware that quantum technology is key to future advanced industries, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) jointly established JTC3 in December 2023 with aim to catalyze both R&D and industrialization of quantum computing, communications, materials, and sensing through standardization, which comes 37 years since launching the ISO/IEC JTC 1 in 1987 as a joint technical committee (JTC) for information technology (IT) like artificial intelligence (AI) and information security. Korea is serving as the inaugural JTC3 Chair since this February and is now holding the first Plenary in Seoul.   The Inaugural Plenary saw the gathering of representatives from various affiliations, including companies like IBM, Microsoft, LG Electronics, and Huawei, research institutes like the UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the U.S.’ National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST), as well as government authorities like Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) and China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).   Over the three-day period, experts will discuss standards development in quantum computing, quantum sensing, basic terminology, and quantum technology classification. The second day will proceed with an international symposium, where countries can share standards strategies and their respective quantum technology development progresses. date2024-05-28

2nd Carbon Composites Jump Up Partnership Meeting

Deputy Minister for Industrial Policy Lee Seung-ryeol chaired the second meeting of the Carbon Composites Jump Up Partnership on May 22 at the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (KOFST), where representatives of related supplier and buyer companies and certification authorities gathered to share and discuss the Domestic Aerospace Carbon Composites Technology Development and Certification Roadmap. date2024-05-24

Korea lays out Aerospace Carbon Composites Technology Development and Certification Roadmap

Deputy Minister for Industrial Policy Lee Seung-ryeol chaired the second meeting of the Carbon Composites Jump Up Partnership (“Partnership”) on May 22 at the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (KOFST), where representatives of related supplier and buyer companies and certification authorities gathered to share and discuss the Domestic Aerospace Carbon Composites Technology Development and Certification Roadmap (“Roadmap”).   As per the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in July 2023 during the first Partnership meeting, the Roadmap has been established with the participation of Korea Carbon Industry Promotion Agency, Korea Carbon and Nano Industry Association, Hankuk Carbon, four buyer companies, and 11 carbon material companies. It contains the technology development and certification application plans required for a vigorous utilization of domestic carbon composites in aerospace areas, laid out in line with homegrown aerospace firms' upcoming product development timelines.   Korea’s carbon composites have thus far faced difficulty entering overseas markets due to their lacking track record in aerospace utilization. It is anticipated that they can gain the opportunity to penetrate global markets via certification and technological development through the newly established Roadmap. The Aerospace and Defense Working Group run within the Partnership is to monitor the Roadmap’s progress for smooth implementation. date2024-05-22

Korea and Chile to push forward cooperation in critical minerals supply chain

Resources Industry Policy Director General Yoon Chang-hyun at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) led the Korean delegation in the fifth Korea-Chile Resources Cooperation Committee meeting on May 15 (local time) in Santiago for discussions on bilateral collaboration in supply chains of lithium and such critical minerals. The Chilean delegation was led by Chile’s Mining Minister Aurora Williams.   The world’s largest lithium reservoir (9.3 million metric tons), Chile takes up 33.2 percent of global lithium reserves and is one of Korea’s key partner countries for building a stronger supply chain on critical minerals like lithium for batteries and other advanced industries. LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI are some of the Korean firms importing lithium carbonate from Chile.   The fifth Resources Cooperation Committee meeting is a follow-up to the two countries’ agreement to discuss detailed lithium cooperation measures on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit held November 2023. Both sides shared their critical minerals strategies and discussed prospects of collaboration, including Chile’s tailings reprocessing technology development and Korea’s eco-friendly lithium extraction technology.   On the margins of the Committee meeting, MOTIE held a Korea-Chile symposium for business exchanges and networking, where Korean firms like LX International and POSCO Holdings and Chilean critical minerals firms like Sociedad Química y Minera (SQM) and Chilean national mining company ENAMI (Empresa Nacional de Minería) gathered to discuss bilateral lithium development, trade, and technology development.   Meanwhile, Director General Yoon and Minister Williams also discussed the Chilean government’s lithium salt flat development bid project among other areas of interest to Korean companies, as well as measures for strengthening the bilateral critical minerals supply chain. date2024-05-16

MOTIE-shipyards joint TF aiming to lead global standards in autonomous ship navigation

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that its public-private joint task force (TF) on autonomous ship navigation attended on May 14 the Symposium "Sailing together: Striving for a Future-Proof IMO MASS Code,” co-sponsored by Korea and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).   Now in its second year, the symposium aims to promote the sharing of research and technology trends on autonomous ship navigation, in line with the 108th session of the Maritime Safety Committee beginning May 15. This year’s symposium is all the more significant in terms of the IMO’s non-mandatory goal-based MASS Code approval slated for this year.   Composed of MOTIE officials and domestic shipyards’ representatives, the public-private joint TF introduced Korea’s autonomous navigation system, technological development progress (led by Korean government and KASS), and commercialization program (led by HD Hyundais’ Avikus and Samsung Heavy Industries, etc.).   On the margins of the symposium, MOTIE officials held bilateral talks with the IMO’s Marine Technology Head Sascha Pristrom and shared Korea’s systems and technology environment that facilitates demonstrations for the world’s first autonomous ship navigation laws and regulatory sandboxes. Moreover, they visited the UK’s Department for Business and Trade to discuss measures for bilateral synergy through the combination of UK’s eco-friendly technologies and Korea’s shipbuilding capacity. date2024-05-14

MOTIE and Airbus D&S sign ITC MOU

Industry and Policy Deputy Minister Lee Seung-ryeol at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) met with Airbus Defense and Space (D&S) Chief Operating Officer (COO) Francisco Sánchez Segura on May 10 for the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between MOTIE and Airbus D&S on the establishment of Airbus’ International Technology Center (ITC) in Korea and discussed measures for wider international cooperation in aerospace and defense. date2024-05-10

MOTIE and Airbus D&S seal MOU on establishing International Technology Center

Industrial Policy Deputy Minister Lee Seung-ryeol at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) met with Airbus Defense and Space (D&S) Chief Operating Officer (COO) Francisco Sánchez Segura on May 10 for the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between MOTIE and Airbus D&S on the establishment of Airbus’ International Technology Center (ITC) in Korea.   A closed-door roundtable was also held on the margins of the MOU signing ceremony, attended by representatives of government-funded research institutes and companies, for discussions on expanding international cooperation in aerospace and defense.   An outcome of bilateral working level meetings following talks held between the MOTIE minister and Airbus D&S CEO in November 2022, the MOU articulates MOTIE-Airbus cooperation on the ITC establishment and joint global research and development (R&D) projects. Airbus is aiming to establish the ITC as part of a greenfield investment project and select the site for the ITC’s location by the end of this year.   During the MOU period, the two sides will develop an operating model to secure ITC’s self-reliance, catalyze innovation and collaboration across their aviation industries, and uncover projects in line with the ITC’s strategic vision. The ITC is Airbus’ first R&D center to be built in Korea and will serve as a joint platform for bilateral R&D. date2024-05-10