Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea’s retail sales post 13.9% year-on-year growth in January

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on February 25 that Korea’s retail sales in January posted a 13.9 percent year-on-year growth. Offline sales jumped 18.4 percent, while online sales rose 9.1 percent. The Ministry releases monthly retail sales figures based on surveys of 25 major retailers. 13 of them are brick-and-mortar retailers: three hypermarket chains, three department store chains, three convenience store chains, and four “super supermarket” (SSM) op date2022-02-28

MOTIE signs MOU for Gunsan shipyard re-operation

Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook visited the Hyundai Heavy Industries Gunsan Shipyard on February 24 to attend the shipyard’s re-operation MOU signing ceremony. During the Minister’s visit, an MOU was signed for the re-operation of the Hyundai Heavy Industries Gunsan Shipyard, which had halted operations in 2017 against the headwinds of the 2008 global financial crisis and the dry season of 2016 when orders hit rock bottom. In the recent wake of the global shipbui date2022-02-25

MOTIE leads public-private joint efforts amid global chip race

Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook attended the Semiconductor Investment Promotion Conference at the Lotte Hotel Seoul on February 16, held to strengthen the semiconductor industry supply chain and bring about an innovation across Korean companies’ competitiveness landscape. Addressing the rising uncertainties in view of the recent supply chain realignment, Russia-Ukraine geopolitical risk, raw materials price surge, and natural disasters from climate change, attendees ag date2022-02-21

MOTIE aims to achieve both “quarantine” and “economy” through BCP

Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook visited the Jusung Engineering R&D Center located in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do on February 17 in order to inspect domestic companies’ Omicron response quarantine conditions. Jusung Engineering is a mid-sized producer of semiconductors, displays, and solar cells, employing 536 workers and having generated KRW 236 billion in sales revenue as of Q3 2021. The visit was made in recognition of the growing importance of companies’ pand date2022-02-21

Minister Moon visits company for quarantine system inspection

Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook visited the Jusung Engineering R&D Center located in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do on February 17 in order to inspect domestic companies’ Omicron response quarantine conditions. In his opening message, Minister Moon noted how Jusung Engineering’s well-prepared quarantine program is helping to minimize work halts during emergencies. He went on to emphasize the need for a preemptive yet practical quarantine system in consideration date2022-02-18

Minister Moon attends Semiconductor Investment Promotion Conference

Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook attended the Semiconductor Investment Promotion Conference at the Lotte Hotel Seoul on February 16, held for the strategic development of domestic companies and Government in view of today’s supply chain reshuffle, global semiconductor industry changes and hegemonic race for technology. In his opening message, Minister Moon emphasized that the semiconductor enterprise is the most important asset and major driver behind Korea’s robu date2022-02-17

Vice Minister visits Hyundai Motor R&D Center

Trade, Industry and Energy 1st Vice Minister Park Jin-kyu visited the Hyundai Motor Namyang R&D Center in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do on February 15 for a site tour on the company’s future car development and commercialization. During the visit, Minister Park addressed the employees with an opening message emphasizing the importance of securing technological competitiveness for Korea’s global automobile leadership. Moreover, he assured the Ministry’s continued commitment to p date2022-02-16

Minister Moon attends "Meta-Fashion" Conference

Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook attended the Digital Transition in Textile and Fashion “Catch Up New World, Meta-Fashion” Conference on February 10 at the Textile Center in Seoul, in view of rapidly rising global “fashion tech” market.   Noting how today’s digital transition and the metaverse are quickly ushering in a new blue ocean in the textile and fashion realm, Minister Moon said the fashion tech market shows great potential for brand date2022-02-11

Minister Moon presides 9th Defense Industry Development Conference

Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook presided the 9th Defense Industry Development Conference held on February 7 at the Government Sejong Convention Center under the theme of expanding Korea’s domestic helicopter market and supporting exports and overseas market penetration.   In his opening message, the Minister emphasized the need to “strengthen civil militia cooperation in space technology and other cutting-edge developments” and called for efforts to r date2022-02-08

Minister Moon attends military “robot chef” demonstration

Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook visited the Army's 28th Recruit Training Regiment on February 7 where “robot chefs” are currently employed in an effort to improve the working conditions of military cooks.   Noting the success of this pilot introduction, Minister Moon stated that this was an important milestone for robotics technology to contribute to a smarter and safer military program. He added that collaboration with the Ministry of National Def date2022-02-08