Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

K-Sale Day to be held to attract more consumers

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on November 19 that the "K-Sale Day" will be held from November 20 to December 15.     This event will be participated by a total of 72 departments, large supermarkets, convenience stores, member companies of the Federation of Distribution Industry, online shopping malls, large manufacturers, retailers and food service providers.     Various items including home supplies, appliances, food, electronics and clothes will be available at between 10 and 50 percent discount.     For more information, visit www.k-saleday.com.     * Short version date2015-11-19

The 2015 Engineering Education Festival to be held for engineers, manufacturers, and people

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 18 that it will sponsor the "2015 Engineering Education Festival" to be held at the Daegu EXPO between November 18 and 19. It will be held for the fourth time to encourage and support engineering students, and show a guideline for them to enter the industry after their graduation.     During the festival, engineering students at the Gachon University showcased a solution that can automatically maintain the balance of the stretcher. Their idea was to install angle and vibration sensors on the stretcher to help the medical staff always maintain the horizontal level.     The students received the Prime Minister's Award for their invention at the festival.     Meanwhile, students at the Korea University of Technology & Education introduced a new embedded system for musicians. Using this system, an LED display can be embedded on a guitar to show the notes so that the guitarist doesn't have to have a sheet music to practice the music. Including these two, a total of five inventions received the MOTIE Award.     At the festival, college students can compete with their new and innovative engineering ideas, show their capstone designs and also get the chance to participate in global engineering conferences.     This year's festival was participated by more than 20,000 students and professors from over 120 colleges of engineering, as well as engineers from Hyundai Motor and LG Electronics.     * Short version date2015-11-18

The 2nd special sale season to be launched for Chinese online shoppers

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 10 that Korean online shopping malls have agreed to launch the 2nd Special Sale Season for Chinese shoppers between November 26 and 28.     In the first season between August 19 and 21, a total of 17 Korean online shopping malls put their items on discount, and more than 410,000 Chinese shoppers visited their sites and purchased over 1.5 billion won ($1.35 million) worth of goods, which is about 3.7 times more than the total sales during the same period in the previous year.     The only problem was that a majority of Chinese is not familiar with these sites.     To remedy this situation, they have recruited five big online shopping malls that are currently operating in China in addition to 19 shopping malls operating in South Korea, so more Chinese will be aware of the sale season.     This time the online shopping malls will promote their sale by using web ads, with the appearance of the "hallyu star" Lee Da-Hae, a Korean actress popular in China.     * Short version date2015-11-10

MOTIE and the Police to work together for public safety

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 02 that MOTIE and Korean National Police Agency signed an MOU on the same day at the Korean National Police Agency to work together in building a safe society and promote the security industries.     According to the MOU, the two agencies will cooperate in the areas of R&D, commercialization of R&D results, global marketing, mutual cooperation in each other’s R&D activities and human resources exchange, particularly in industry growth engine projects for the future such as patrol car integration system that enables voice and touch command by using IoT and scanners for the preservation and analysis of materials through real-time identification and 3D configuration of the obstacles and risks at the crime scenes.     MOTIE and Korean National Police Agency plan to apply the latest technologies in the security industries and replace the old police equipment with new ones, while also developing new equipment for which the Korean police has been dependent on imports.     The aim is to turn the security industries as a future growth engine by tapping into the global market while also creating new markets.     * Short version date2015-11-02

Electricity Sales in 3Q and Retail Sales Trends in September 2015

Electricity Sales in 3Q and Retail Sales Trends in September 2015   Electricity Sales Trends in 3Q □ In 3Q, the total volume of electricity sales increased 2.4% from a year earlier, which is the most since 4Q in 2013. It is attributable to consumer sentiment recovery and heat wave.   2. Sales Trends by Major Retailers in September □ All major retailers showed increases in sales due to Korean Thanksgiving holidays in September. ㅇIn the third quarter of 2015, the sales of h date2015-10-30

Automobile Industry Trends for September 2015

    □ The volume of South Korean automobile production, exports, and domestic sales grew by 13.5 percent, 3.5 percent, and 16.3 percent, respectively, from a year earlier. This was attributed to a reduction in the country’s individual consumption tax, strong sales of multi-purpose vehicles such as SUVs and minivans, and satisfactory growth in exports of key export models such as the Accent, the Pride, and the Trax.   □ : Production increased by 13.5 percent from a year earlier to 333,759 units, despite a 26-hour strike at Hyundai Motor. This rise was partly attributable to the effects of another strike the year before, along with satisfactory growth in both domestic sales and exports.   □ : Domestic sales went up by 16.3 percent from a year earlier to 149,327 units. This was attributable to the continuing popularity of multi-purpose vehicles, such as the Santa Fe, the Sorento, the Trax, and the Tivoli. Other reasons were a reduction in the country’s individual consumption tax and the introduction of new Avante, Sportage, and other new-car models.   - Sales of imported cars increased by 37.0 percent from a year earlier to 24,323 units. They also rose by 18.3percent from a month earlier   □ : Exports increased by 3.5 percent from a year earlier to 203,762 units. This was mainly attributable to strong performances by key export models such as the Accent, the Pride, and the Trax.   □ Exports of auto parts rose by 5.0 percent from a year earlier to USD 2.13 billion. This was largely attributed to an increase in overseas sales of Korean-based finished vehicles.   date2015-10-30

The Korea Industry Fair to exhibit smart manufacturing technologies

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on October 28 that the Korea Industry Fair, which became the largest convention of capital goods suppliers in the country after the Korea Machine Fair, Seoul International Tool Exhibition and Korea Metal Week were integrated into one in 2011, will be held from October 28 to 31, 2015 with the participation of 1,286 companies from 34 countries.     The exhibition will include machines, robots, 3D printing and evolution of smart manufacturing technologies.     While many Korean companies will present their smart manufacturing machines and systems using IoT, Siemens from Germany will show their smart factory models.     Some of the participating companies will also introduce their industrial robots, service robots and 3D printers.     * Short version date2015-10-28

Weizmann Institute of Science to transfer its core proprietary technologies to Korean companies

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on October 23 that Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science, one of the world's top five institutes for science, will transfer more than 100 of its core proprietary technologies to Korean companies as a result of the MOU signed between the Korea-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation and the Weizmann Institute of Science and Yozma Group.     According to the MOU, the Weizmann Institute of Science will transfer some of its core pr date2015-10-23

MOTIE holds a groundbreaking ceremony for the Industrial-Academic Convergence District in Dangjin

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on October 21 that it held a groundbreaking ceremony for the "Industry-University Convergence Area" on October 21 at the Seongmun National Industrial Complex with the participation of over 200 related persons.     Its plan is to build both a university campus and research institute, and launch various industry-academic cooperation programs by injecting a total of 45.5 billion won ($40 million) into the project by 2018.     The campus will be completed in 2016 and ready to provide task-oriented training for the first semester of 2017 for the 512 faculty members and students of the Materials Science and Engineering, Information and Communication Engineering, and Robotic Automation Engineering departments.     Advanced technical training courses will also be available for more than 460 professionals currently working in the respective industries.     The Convergence Institute will receive more than 50 resident SME's with a high growth potential, and these companies will enjoy the benefit of the joint R&D projects to be carried out by professors and students.     The Seongmun National Industrial Complex is expected to contribute to the economic growth of Chungcheongnam-do along with other industrial complexes in the area.     * Short version date2015-10-21

MOTIE and Samsung to commercialize robots for micro and precision assembly

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on October 19 that starting from the end of this year, it will invest a total of 16.75 billion won ($15 million) in the development of core robot parts and robot systems that can be used for micro and precision assembly.     In this project, Samsung Electronics will play the role of proposing robot specifications, product verification, providing technical consulting small and medium-sized suppliers of in robots and robot part date2015-10-19