Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Fashion industry meets ICT technology in Seoul

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo (right) and Seoul City Mayor Park Won-soon (center) attended the opening ceremony of a new state-of-the-art clothing shop in Dongdaemun District, Seoul, on April 25.The clothing store is capable of designing and producing customized clothes within 24 hours. This was possible because of the Dongdaemun area’s advanced fashion infrastructure and Korea’s competitive information and communications technology (ICT).During his speech at the ev date2019-04-25

Korean auto exports rise 2.4 percent year-on-year in Q1

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on April 17 that Korea’s automobile exports in the first quarter increased 2.4 percent compared to the same period year earlier.The number of Korean vehicles exported from January to March amounted to 587,690 units. In terms of value, exports rose 4.7 percent to USD 10.3 billion. This expansion is primarily a result of robust demand for eco-friendly cars, sports utility vehicles (SUVs), and compact cars.Over the same period, the number o date2019-04-17

Minister Sung discusses industry innovation strategies at 2019 Boao Forum

Trade, Industry and Minister Sung Yun-mo participated in a session titled “5G : Bringing Things to Life with IoT” at the 2019 Boao Forum held in Hainan on March 28 (local time).During the session, Minister Sung said Korea is preparing to be the world’s first to commercialize the 5G network. Minister Sung also introduced Korea’s industry innovation strategy that includes autonomous vehicles and smart factories that operate on 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure. date2019-03-28

Overall retail sales inch down 0.4 percent in February

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on March 28 that Korea’s overall retail sales in February inched down 0.4 percent compared to the same period last year. While offline retail sales fell 7.1 percent, online retail sales gained 12.0 percent.The decline in sales at brick-and-mortar stores was mostly caused by the effect of the Seollal holiday that fell on February 5 this year. Last year, the same holiday fell on February 16. The earlier holiday meant greater demand for gif date2019-03-28

Korea reveals robot industry initiative, aiming to be one of the world’s top 4 robot leaders

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo (left) gave a presentation on Korea’s robot industry fostering plan in the presence of President Moon Jae-in and Science Minister You Young Man at a meeting held in Daegu on March 22.During his speech, Minister Sung said that robots, combined with new technologies like artificial intelligence and the 5G network, will become smarter and they will be more broadly used in the manufacturing sector and in our everyday lives.At the event, the Minis date2019-03-22

Korean air purifier business alliance moves into innovation center in Gwangju

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo (left) attended the move-in ceremony of the alliance for air consumer electronics businesses held at the air home appliance innovation support center in the Gwangju branch of the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI) on March 18.During his visit, Minister Sung asked the companies belong to the alliance to strive for developing new products by making use of the innovation center’s testing devices and research equipment. Minister Sung a date2019-03-18

Minister Sung attends MOU signing ceremony for air quality industry

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo (second from the left) attended a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony for the air quality industry that was held in the Gwangju Techno Park on March 18.The MOU was signed among Gwangju City, Gwangju Techno Park, and LG Electronics to develop an industrial ecosystem for the air quality sector. The air quality industry refers to an industry that encompasses any product, system, or service identifying the cause of air pollution, measuri date2019-03-18

Korean auto industry experiences decline in exports, production, and domestic sales in February

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on March 14 that the Korean automobile industry in February experienced a decline in exports, production, and domestic sales.The number of Korean automobiles exported last month reached 160,442 vehicles, down 1.6 percent compared to the same period last year. This is mostly attributable to fewer working days. Exports in terms of value, on the other hand, improved 2.7 percent to USD 2.9 billion. Outbound shipments of green cars jumped 20.3 perc date2019-03-14

2nd committee meeting approves ‘regulatory sandbox’ program requests for five new business models

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo chaired the second committee meeting on deliberating regulatory exemption and temporary permission requests for five new, high-tech business models at the Korea Technology Center in Seoul on February 27.The primary aim for approving regulatory sandbox programs is to bolster innovation-driven growth by allowing companies and enterprises to keep pace with rapid technological and market changes.After the reviews, the committee agreed to accept all of date2019-02-27

Overall retail sales in January gain 10.6 percent with online sales expanding at 17.3 percent

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on February 27 that Korea’s overall retail sales in January gained 10.6 percent compared to the same period last year.Offline retailers saw a sales improvement of 6.5 percent thanks to the Lunar New Year holiday that fell in early February. Increased sales of gift sets for the holiday led to sales growth in all types of stores. January’s year-on-year expansion was the largest for brick-and-mortar stores since February 2018.Sales at date2019-02-27