Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Minister Sung lauds Korea’s achievement of surpassing annual chip exports of $100 billion

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yunmo (third from the left) lauded Korea’s unprecedented achievement of surpassing annual chip exports of $100 billion at the ceremony of the 11th Annual Semiconductor Day that took place at COEX in Seoul on October 25.During his commemorative address at the event, Minister Sung said that this accomplishment was possible because of close public-private cooperation, as well as homegrown companies that made bold endeavors, continuous investments, and date2018-10-25

Minister Sung commemorates Korea’s first implementation of hydrogen fuel cell buses

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yunmo (second from right in the first row) attended the ceremony for Korea’s first implementation of hydrogen fuel cell buses to raise public awareness and promote the national spread of fuel cell buses in Ulsan on October 22.During his commemorative address, Minister Sung highlighted that the Korean government plans to expand its support for technological development in fuel cell cars as well as other future car technologies. Seoul also aims to imp date2018-10-23

Korea’s first operation of hydrogen buses take place in Ulsan

Seoul, Korea - The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on October 22 that Korea’s first operation of hydrogen fuel cell buses was launched in Ulsan, spurring public interest and promoting the national spread of hydrogen buses. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by the Ulsan city government, Hyundai Motor, and an Ulsan bus company to operate hydrogen buses, spread hydrogen vehicles and charging stations, and raise public awareness about their safety and environment date2018-10-22

Fewer working days lead to decrease in auto exports in September

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on October 12 that Korea’s automobile exports, production, and domestic sales in September all saw a year-on-year decrease on fewer working days due to the national Chuseok holiday.Exports of finished vehicles fell 18.4 percent to 183,964 units. In terms of region, all export destinations except non-EU European countries saw a decline: North America (down 14.0 percent to $1.2 billion), EU (down 32.7 percent to $542 million), the Middle E date2018-10-12

Minister Sung appreciates progress made in display industry at 9th Display Day

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yunmo appreciated the progress made in the Korean display industry and referred to it as an exemplary case of innovation-driven growth at the celebration of the 9th Display Day in Seoul on October 1.During his speech at the ceremony, Minister Sung said the Ministry will provide full policy support for the display sector to develop next-generation display panels after liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), foster world-cl date2018-10-01

Online retail sales post double-digit growth of 13.3 percent in August

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on September 28 that online retail sales in August increased 13.3 percent compared to a year earlier on the back of stronger demand for most item categories.Offline retail sales also went up 2.9 percent thanks to sales growth at convenience stores and super supermarkets (SSMs). This and the double-digit growth in web-based retail sales helped the overall retail sales expand 6.5 percent.The Ministry releases monthly retail sales figures based o date2018-09-28

Minister Sung takes office as 60th chief of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

New Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo delivered an inaugural address as the Ministry’s 60th chief at his inauguration ceremony held in the Government Complex Sejong on September 27.During his speech, Minister Sung said that the Ministry will work towards industry, trade, and energy policies to create quality jobs and to spur innovation-driven economic growth.The ceremony was attended by all Ministry officials, including Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Lee Inho, and s date2018-09-27

Auto exports, production, domestic sales all expand in August

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on September 12 that Korea's automobile exports, production, and domestic sales in August all expanded compared to the same period last year.Exports of finished vehicles grew 2.1 percent year-on-year to 174,869 units. In terms of value, they inched up 0.5 percent to USD 2.9 billion. This is attributable to increased sales of newly launched sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and demand growth in Middle Eastern and non-EU European countries. In addi date2018-09-14

Vice Minister Lee emphasizes creating new growth opportunities in bio-health industry

Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Lee Inho delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of BIOplus 2018, which was hosted by the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization (KoreaBio) to share recent bioindustry trends and seek new business opportunities, in Seoul on September 6.During the speech, Vice Minister Lee underlined the importance of new growth opportunities in Korea’s bio-health industry and suggested policy directions based on the country’s abundant biotechnology data, date2018-09-06

July retail sales up 7.8 percent, as retailers see growth online, offline

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on August 30 that overall retail sales in July 2018 expanded 7.8 percent compared to July 2017, as online and offline retailers both saw growth.   Online sales jumped 17.8 percent, seeing the biggest year-on-year growth since January 2018.   Sales at brick-and-mortar retailers also climbed, 2.3 percent year-on-year, led by sales growth at convenience stores and department stores.   All categories of retailers except for co date2018-08-30