Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea’s retail sales grow 8.5% in 2016

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 31 that retail sales rose by 8.5 percent in 2016 from a year earlier, driven by a double-digit growth of e-commerce sales.    Online retail sales soared 18.1 percent year-on-year in 2016 while in-store sales increased 4.5 percent. E-commerce sales have recorded a double-digit growth for three consecutive years amid the shift toward shopping on the Internet. It represents 32.4 percent of the total retail sales in 2016, up date2017-01-31

Korea’s auto production and sales decline in 2016

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 11 that Korea’s auto production, domestic sales and exports all appear to have slowed in 2016 despite some numbers having bounced back towards the year-end. Data revealed that although car production and exports in December rose 5.9 percent to 434,877 units and 6.3 percent to 300,242 units, respectively, from a year earlier, domestic sales dropped year-on-year by 7.2 percent to 186,035 units. However, when compared to the mon date2017-01-11

Minister Joo reports 2017 policy direction to Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Joo Hyunghwan (second from left, second row) reported his ministry’s policy direction for 2017 to  Hwang Kyo-ahn (front row), Acting President of Korea, at the Government Complex in Seoul on January 5.  Minister Joo pledged to put his policy focus on recovering the export growth and consolidating the foundation for a healthy economy by creating new growth engines. The session was attended by representatives from economy-related government age date2017-01-05

Korea to unify charging method of electric cars

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on December 29 that it plans to standardize the charging mechanism for electric vehicles in Korea. The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) recognizes the need to integrate the charging methods of electric cars -- especially given the country’s growing market for EVs -- and believes now is the most suitable time to begin making those changes for the long run. There are currently five major charging standards recognized by date2016-12-29

Data for Korean car industry shows decline in Oct

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy released on Oct 10 that the data for the Korean automobile industry  showed the downward trend  last month. The domestic production has declined by 14.2 percent, domestic sales has declined by 10.0 percent and exports has declined by 13.1 percent, compared to the same period last year.    The number of cars produced here  fell to 347,470 units in October, a year-on-year drop of 14.2 percent, due to car industry walkouts, typho date2016-11-24

Minister Joo holds public-private talk on new industry promotion

  Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Joo Hyunghwan (center) hosted the third meeting between government and private sector leaders from  consulting, macro and cultural society, experts on new industries, and representatives from big, medium and small businesses to discuss how to promote and support new businesses in an era of the fourth industrial revolution, on Nov 11.   date2016-11-09

Vice Minister Jeong speaks at gov't's policy briefing on raising competitiveness of shipbuilding and shipping industries

  Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Jeong Marn-ki (right) spoke at the government's briefing on the policy direction for raising competitiveness of shipbuilding and shipping industries facing overcapacity issue on Oct 31. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance led the briefing with the related economic ministries in the government complex in Seoul on Oct 31. Other attendees in the photo include Strategy and Finance Vice Minister Choi Sang-mok (center) and Vice Chairman of the Financi date2016-11-01

KATS recommends consumers stop using Galaxy Note 7

The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) under the roof of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy issued three recommendations for consumers and Samsung Electronics, the manufacturer of Galaxy Note 7, on Tuesday following a meeting on Monday which concluded that there is a possibility of a new type of defect in the mobile phone beyond the battery issue.  Below are the three recommendations issued collectively by KATS officials, Samsung Electronics and technological experts date2016-10-11

Domestic automotive sales and production fell in September

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on Oct 7 that the domestic automotive sales fell 13.8 percent to 128,674 units in September compared with the same period last year, with the end of the special consumption tax cut.   Local car production also dropped 22.7 percent to 258,026 units last month from a year ago mainly due to the prolonged walkout of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, the county’s top two automakers.   Affected by the shrinking car production, car export date2016-10-07

Korea unveils policy direction to strengthen competitiveness of steel and petrochemical industries

South Korean economic ministries, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, unveiled on Friday their coordinated plans to strengthen the competitiveness of steel and petrochemical industries, both of which face an oversupply issue.   A policy direction to sharpen an edge of the troubled shipping and shipbuilding is expected to be announced in October.   To maintain global demand for Korean steel and petrochemical products, the government will encourage and help reduce date2016-09-30