Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Trade Minister Yoo meets with foreign investors in materials & components industry in Seoul

Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee (center) discussed current trade and industry issues with foreign investors in the materials and components industry in Seoul on Sep 26.   The meeting was attended by more than 30 government officials and business leaders from foreign-invested companies including 3M Korea, DuPont Korea and Merck Korea. date2019-09-27

Automobile exports edge down 3.4 percent in August

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on September 18 that Korean automobile exports inched down 3.4 percent to 164,154 vehicles from a year earlier. The drop in exports is largely attributable to fewer working days. In value terms, however, exports advanced 4.6 percent year-on-year to USD 3.0 billion.Automobile output totaled 249,390 units, down 15.9 percent. The local automakers are Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Korea, Ssangyong Motor, Renault Samsung Motors, Zyle Daewoo Bus, an date2019-09-18

Minister Sung visits a leading fiber optic cable manufacturing company in Ansan

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo (second from the left) visited Taihan Fiber Optics, a local producer of synthetic quartz in Ansan, on Sep 4. During his visit, Minister Sung discussed ways to improve competitiveness of the material industry. date2019-09-05

Korea’s online retail sales improve 8.7% in July

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on August 29 that Korea’s online retail sales in July saw a year-on-year improvement of 8.7 percent. Overall retail sales, however, inched down 0.1 percent as sales at brick-and-mortar stores decreased 5.6 percent.These results are based on surveys of 26 major retailers. Half of them are brick-and-mortar retailers: three department store chains, three hypermarket chains, three convenience store chains, and four super supermarket (SSM) op date2019-08-30

Minister Sung visits a local chemical company in Ulsan

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo (center) visited Jeil Chemical, a local producer of epoxy resins, in Ulsan on Aug 28.   Minister Sung assessed the impact of Korea’s removal from Japan’s white list of preferred trade partners and promoted the government’s plans to support local parts and material industries.   date2019-08-28

Korea’s auto exports post double-digit growth in July

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on August 15 that July exports of Korean automobiles grew 11.6 percent to 215,927 vehicles compared to the same period last year. In value terms, outbound shipments increased 21.6 percent to USD 3.8 billion. This expansion in exports was largely attributable to improved sales of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and eco-friendly cars in North America and the EU.For environment-friendly vehicles, exports jumped 102.3 percent to 25,063 units. These date2019-08-16

Minister Sung meets with reps. of state-run research institutes for materials and parts

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo presided over a meeting with the representatives of 11 state-run research institutions for materials and parts at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) in Daejeon on Aug 8.    During the meeting, Minister Sung discussed ways to revamp R&D policies in direction to raise local production of key materials and parts and to cut reliance on Japan in the two sectors.    date2019-08-09

Overall retail sales in Korea increase 5% in June

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on July 30 that Korea’s overall retail sales in June grew 5.0 percent compared to the same period last year.Sales of offline retailers inched up 0.7 percent, and those of online retailers advanced 11.7 percent.The Ministry releases monthly retail sales figures based on surveys of 26 major retailers. Half of them are brick-and-mortar retailers: three department store chains, three hypermarket chains, three convenience store chains, and fo date2019-07-30

Korea’s auto exports, production post year-on-year increases in H1

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on July 16 that the Korea’s automobile exports in the first six months of this year rose 2.5 percent year-on-year to 1,246,454 vehicles. In value terms, exports improved 7.0 percent to USD 21.7 billion. This increase is largely attributable to greater demand for eco-friendly cars and sport utility vehicles (SUVs).For green cars, outbound shipments jumped 30.1 percent to 112,093 units mainly due to increased sales in the U.S. and the EU.T date2019-07-16

Vice Minister Cheong reviews Nano-Convergence 2020 Program

Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Cheong Seung-il (center) and Science and ICT Vice Minister Mun Mi-ock (second from the right) attended the presentation of results of the Nano-Convergence 2020 Program held in Suwon, south of Seoul, on June 28.Promoting commercialization of results derived from the public sector’s R&D activities, the Nano-Convergence 2020 program is scheduled to run until 2020 by the Nano-Convergence Foundation (NCF), which was founded in 2012 under the joint su date2019-06-28