Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea rolls out AI Autonomous Manufacturing Anchor Projects

Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea attended the AI Autonomous Manufacturing Anchor Project Agreement Ceremony today in Seoul and announced 26 projects set for launch this year. Participating in the anchor projects are a number of Korea’s major manufacturing companies including Hyundai Motor, GS Caltex, Samsung Heavy Industries, POSCO, and Korean Air. With 213 submissions sent in for the selection of 10 projects, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) increased the number of anchor projects from the initial 10 to 26 as a nod to companies’ keen interest, which can be attributed to artificial intelligence (AI) playing a crucial role in their future manufacturing survival strategy. The AI Autonomous Manufacturing Anchor Project is meaningful in that AI is an efficient means of responding to working age population declines and demographic shifts. With the introduction of AI, human errors are decreased, quality control can reach new heights, and businesses can react quickly to consumer needs and other rapidly changing market trends. AI deployment further contributes to carbon reduction and onsite safety, enhances productivity, and reduces costs across all sectors. The total investment for the 26 anchor projects amounts to KRW 3.7 trillion, ₩190 billion of which the Korean government and local authorities will be funding over a four-year period. Through the anchor projects, MOTIE is looking forward to raising productivity by over 30 percent, while lowering costs, product defect rate, and energy consumption by over 20 percent, 50 percent, and 10 percent, respectively. Beginning with 26 projects this year, MOTIE plans to increase the number of anchor projects to 200 by 2027, which are expected to draw over ₩20 trillion in investment to Korea. Going forward, the anchor projects will center around the AI Autonomous Manufacturing Alliance (“Alliance”), which the ministry launched in July 2024 with the participation of 153 companies and institutions from 12 sectors in order to prevent the anchor projects from being reduced to a one-time or sporadic event. MOTIE intends to scale up the overall project to cover SMEs, middle-market companies, and large corporations within the Alliance based on sector-specific roadmaps.  For firms neither part of the Alliance nor anchor projects, an AI Manufacturing Foundation Model will be developed starting this year with a total investment of ₩10 billion, with the participation of related research institutions like the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) and the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI). Based on data and technologies gained through the anchor projects, these institutions will work in tandem to create the foundation model for distribution across manufacturing sites by 2026 or later. Using the foundation model, manufacturers will be able to establish AI manufacturing systems tailored to their respective procedures. Local government bodies will also join in the effort to spread the use of AI in Korea’s manufacturing sites. First, they will work on uncovering anchor projects with a focus on locally specialized industries. Moreover, they will push the establishment of AI autonomous manufacturing hubs to promote the diffusion of AI within their regions. Industrial complexes will assist tenant businesses’ AI manufacturing innovations by providing a simulation center, module center, and an innovation data center for shared use. K-SURE is to provide ₩10 trillion in trade financing over a five-year period to assist the AI autonomous manufacturing projects of companies taking part in the Alliance.   date2024-10-28

Korea proposes technical committee for international MVDC standards at IEC General Meeting 2024

The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced on October 27 that it proposed the launching of a technical committee (TC) for the legislation of international standards for medium voltage direct currents (MVDC) during the IEC General Meeting 2024 held in Edinburgh, UK, through October 21–25. The TC proposal comes as a follow-up measure to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)’s selection of Korea’s MVDC technology as a key future standards area this May. Following previous TCs for printed electronics (2011) and wearables (2017), the TC for MVDC is the third to be pushed by Korea. It is anticipated that the transmission of direct currents produced from harnessing hydrogen fuel cells, solar energy and such new renewable sources will substantially contribute to securing technological competitiveness in the global MVDC grid market. On the margins of the IEC General Meeting, KATS and the Czech Office for Standards, Metrology and Testing (UNMZ) entered a two-year arrangement on implementing standards cooperation including plans for a bilateral technical standards workshop on artificial intelligence (AI) and electric vehicle (EV) chargers, as well as launching a Korea-Czech Standards Cooperation Forum for closer standards collaboration, with a view to support the two countries’ comprehensive economic cooperation over industries, trade, and energy as a follow-up to Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the Czech Republic this September.   date2024-10-28

Korea announces International Standards Strategy on Convergence Robot Technology

The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced today the Convergence Robot Technology International Standards Strategy (“Strategy") for supporting the Korean robot industry’s global super gap securing efforts. In line with Korea’s national standardization strategy for advanced industries announced this May, the above Strategy was established through the international robot standardization forum composed of related academia, industry, and research experts. With the acceleration of digital transformation based on artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G, the scope of demand for robots is extending beyond industrial uses to include a wider range of areas such as logistics, housework, delivery, and care service. In view of this trend, the Strategy outlines the plan to push 21 Korean Standard (KS) legislations and 16 key international standard proposals for mainly wearable, rehabilitation, and home service robots by 2028. Notably, the Strategy contains an international standard proposal on safety precautions for users of rehabilitation robots for the physically challenged, a joint research project in progress by the Korea Association of Robot Industry (KARI) and the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA). Accordingly, KARI and RESNA signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the joint development, utilization, and sharing of relevant international standards on the margins of the Strategy announcement.   date2024-10-25

RobotWorld 2024 showcases latest eye-catching robot technologies

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) is launching RobotWorld 2024 from October 23–26 at KINTEX in Ilsan, organized by related institutions like the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement (KIRIA) and the Korea Association of Robot Industry (KARI).  This year’s RobotWorld drew a record high participation of 291 companies and institutions displaying the latest robot technologies at 880 booths, held in conjunction with Boom-Up Korea Week 2024 to host trade shows, overseas market strategy seminars, and other export assistance programs.  At the center of attention are robots equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) as AI is expanding the scope of tasks robots can perform, introducing a variety of different robots such as humanoids, delivery robots, and guide robots. Upon a spoken request, Korean company AeiROBOT’s humanoid hands the person a candy of requested color using AI-based voice and object recognition, showing prospects for utilization in manufacturing and service sectors. ROBOTIS’ indoor delivery robot is able to maneuver through elevators and security doors with its AI vision and robot arms, exhibiting an increased range of autonomous movement. INTEGRIT’s large language model (LLM)-powered robot helps customers with hotel checkouts. A number of technologies are also showcased by companies that succeeded in localizing key robot parts. Tesollo’s robot grippers rely on AI vision to adjust their position and shape to grip objects. SPG displayed its localized robot reducer that can be applied to various different robots like industrial robots and humanoids. Early this year, MOTIE announced plans to support these endeavors with the aim of raising five key robot parts’ localization rate up to 80 percent by 2030. Based on the view that robots are the future growth engine for the next-generation, MOTIE intends to push several policies to help nurture the robot industry, including an anchor project for AI autonomous manufacturing, the “Humanoid Initiative,” and overhauling of AI robot laws.   date2024-10-24

Korea and Japan launch 17th bilateral Industrial Technology Fair

Deputy Minister for Trade Park Jong-won at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea attended the 17th Korea-Japan Industrial Technology Fair (“Fair”) today in Seoul. Launched in 2008, the Fair has since acted as a bilateral channel for business exchanges and industrial and technology cooperation between the two countries. Roughly 250 Korean and Japanese business leaders are taking part this year, including representatives of key industries such as Korea-Japan Economic Association Chairman and Samyang Holdings Chairman Kim Yoon and Japan-Korea Industrial Technology Co-Operation Foundation (JKF) Senior Director Uchida Toshiaki, as well as those from the Japanese Embassy in Korea and other government officials. The Fair is hosting one-on-one business consultations for Korean and Japanese information technology (IT) firms and materials and parts companies; technical consultations between Japanese experts and Korean businesses; and a Korea-Japan Cooperation Seminar for discussions on current trends and strategies regarding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles.  A part of the program is also dedicated to awarding six industry and academia figures for their contribution to bilateral industrial technology cooperation. In his congratulatory message, Deputy Minister Park assessed that industrial and technology cooperation is a strong driver in the development of Korea-Japan relations and highlighted that the Korean government will provide strong support towards these bilateral collaborations amid the increasing global trade uncertainties.   date2024-10-22

Korea’s automobile exports grow 4.9% in September

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced today that Korea’s automobile exports for the month of September advanced 4.9 percent year-on-year to USD 5.5 billion, surpassing the previous high set in September last year ($5.2 billion).  The growth can be attributed to exports of Kia’s new electric vehicle (EV) model, increased SUV exports, and GM Korea’s export recovery. The accumulated export value through January–September 2024 also reached a historic $52.9 billion (up 1.6 percent year-on-year). The export of eco-friendly vehicles grew 12.3 percent to $2.0 billion, turning to an expansion for the first time in four months on the backs of robust demand for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) (up 75.6 percent to $1.0 billion). In spite of the lower number of working days (-1 weekday) compared to that of September 2023, domestic production inched up 1.7 percent, recovering the 300,000-unit thresholds in three months with 307,026 units as major automakers are boosting production on account of global demand.  Domestic sales sank 2.3 percent to 130,685 units. Meanwhile, eco-friendly car sales climbed 37.9 percent to 58,983 units, of which HEV sales soared 63.9 percent to an all-time monthly high of 45,773 units.   date2024-10-17

Korea to host International AI Standards Summit 2025

The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea stated that it was officially announced at the Global Standards Symposium held in New Delhi on October 15 that the International AI Standards Summit 2025 will take place next year in Seoul through December 2–3. An alliance of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the World Standards Cooperation (WSC) proposed the need for the International AI Standards Summit as advised in the Governing AI for Humanity report released by the AI Advisory Body (AIAB) under the United Nations (UN), to which the ISO suggested Korea’s hosting the event in conjunction with the World Standards Forum 2025, which is expecting numerous high-level industry figures. Going forward, the WSC will be launching the AI Standards Summit 2025 with an active effort to draw the participation of various high-level figures in not only AI businesses but also in wide-ranging AI application areas including semiconductors, telecommunications, mobility, energy, and services.   date2024-10-16

Korea and Germany hold 1st KR-DE Industrie 4.0 & Dataspace Forum

Industries and Enterprises Deputy Minister Oh Seung-cheol at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea attended the 1st KR-DE Industrie 4.0 & Dataspace Forum today in Seoul, held with the participation of roughly 100 persons of both countries’ government bodies, academia, industries, and research institutions including Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Forum participants exchanged information on industry data platform policies and discussed measures for sharing and diffusing standards for platform synchronization. On the margins of the Forum, Korea Industrial Complex Corporation (KICOX) and Germany’s Labs Network Industrie 4.0 signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for industrial complex data sharing and data standards development support. date2024-10-16

Trade Minister attends 2nd Plant EPC Policy Forum

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong attended the second Plant EPC Policy Forum on October 14 in Seoul held to seek forward-looking strategies for Korea’s engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) industry and discuss ways to achieve this year’s USD 33 billion overseas plant bid target. In his congratulatory message, Trade Minister Cheong stated that winning overseas plant bid projects is a key means of export recovery, expressing hopes that the Government’s recent push for stronger cooperation with the Global South translates into diverse business opportunities across Korea’s plant sectors. The event was attended by roughly 100 persons comprising EPC related government, institutions, and companies’ representatives. date2024-10-14

Korea’s ICT exports climb 24% in September

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced today that the export and import of Korea’s information and communications technology (ICT) goods for September 2024 logged USD 22.4 billion and $12.5 billion, respectively, and the trade balance stood at a surplus of $9.9 billion. ICT exports for the month of September (up 24.0 percent year-on-year) came in second highest following those of March 2022, maintaining an upward climb for the 11th consecutive month.  Semiconductor exports hit unprecedented highs and led overall ICT exports, advancing 36.3 percent year-on-year to $13.6 billion. Memory chips (up 60.7 percent to $8.7 billion) and system chips (up 5.2 percent to $4.4 billion) both increased. Exports of finished mobile phones (up 0.5 percent to $0.3 billion) and parts (up 31.2 percent to $1.4 billion) rose simultaneously, maintaining the double-digit growth since March 2024. Computers and peripherals (up 104.8 percent to $1.6 billion) are enjoying robust demand as solid-state drives (SSDs) (up 168.8 percent to $1.2 billion) surpassed the $1 billion monthly export value for the second consecutive month. By region, ICT exports to China (including Hong Kong) climbed 22.6 percent to $9.2 billion, achieving growth for the 11th consecutive month on the backs of demand for major items like semiconductors and mobile phones. Exports to Vietnam (up 8.7 percent to $3.4 billion) expanded for the 14th consecutive month thanks to growth across key items. Exports to the U.S. (up 39.9 percent to $3.0 billion) grew for the 11th consecutive month as semiconductors (up 88.0 percent to $1.2 billion) and computers and peripherals (up 250.6 percent to $0.7 billion) hiked sharply, boosted by demand for servers and datacenters. EU-bound ICT exports (up 11.3 percent to $1.1 billion) sustained growth for the seventh consecutive month with mobile phones (up 361.2 percent to $0.2 billion) and computers and peripherals (up 116.6 percent to $0.2 billion) displaying strong growth. To Japan (up 2.3 percent to $0.4 billion), exports of semiconductors and computers and peripherals increased.   date2024-10-14