Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Retail sales advance 14.0% in February

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on March 29 that overall retail sales in February increased 14.0 percent from a year earlier.Sales of in-store retailers also grew 15.1 percent from a year ago thanks to higher demand for holiday gift sets. They made up 74.7 percent of the total retail sales.Online retail sales in February saw a 12.1 percent year-on-year growth, which is slightly lower than the average monthly year-on-year growth rate of 13.9 percent in 2017. This was due to t date2018-03-29

Automobile exports see decline in February

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on March 13 that automobile exports saw a year-on-year decline in February.The number of working days in February this year was three days fewer than that in the same month last year due to the Seollal holiday. This contributed to a contraction in automobile exports, production, and domestic sales. In 2017, the national holiday was in January.Automobile exports decreased 17.1 percent year-on-year to 165,952 vehicles. In terms of value, they sh date2018-03-13

Online retail sales increase 21.6% in January

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on February 27 that online retail sales in January increased 21.6 percent from a year earlier while overall retail sales remained roughly the same due to a 9.2 percent year-on-year decrease in in-store retail sales.Online retail sales in January this year saw the largest year-on-year increase since September 2017. This improvement is attributable to the occurrence of the Seollal holiday in February. In the previous year, the same holiday fell date2018-02-27

Automobile exports post double-digit growth in January

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on February 13 that automobile exports surged 10.4 percent to 196,835 vehicles from a year earlier in January.In terms of value, car exports grew 9 percent year-on-year to USD 3.2 billion, thanks to increased shipments to most regions, except North America and other Asian countries. This growth was supported by the growing popularity of compact sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and eco-friendly cars. The number of green vehicles shipped overseas date2018-02-19

Industry Ministry to host world’s first robot ski tournament

Seoul, Korea - The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on February 9 that the Ministry will host the “Edge of Robot: Ski Robot Challenge,” the world’s first robot ski tournament, at a ski resort in Hoengseong, Gangwon Province, on February 12. During the tournament, planned to be held on the sideline of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, robots will participate in a race similar to giant slalom competitions, which involve skiing between gates. The robot skiers will date2018-02-09

Minister Paik chairs meeting with semiconductor, display industry leaders

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Paik Ungyu (center) posed for a photo with leaders from the semiconductor and display industries at a meeting in Seoul on February 8.During the meeting, Minister Paik, corporate representatives, and professors discussed strategies to promote sustainable growth and development of the semiconductor and display industries.The meeting was attended by about 30 business leaders and academics, including Samsung Electronics Memory Business President Jin Gyoyoung, SK H date2018-02-08

Korea unveils roadmap to develop future car industry

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) unveiled a roadmap for the development of the future car industry that aims to generate a new growth engine for the Korean economy at a conference in Pangyo, near Seoul, on February 2. According to the roadmap, the Korean government and private sector will cooperate on developing core technologies for autonomous vehicles and constructing smart traffic systems to introduce the infrastructure necessary for completely self-driving cars by 2022.Elec date2018-02-02

Korea’s retail sales increase 6.2% in 2017

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 30 that retail sales in 2017 increased 6.2 percent over 2016 on the back of strong growth in e-commerce businesses. Online retail sales in 2017 jumped 13.2 percent from a year earlier, accounting for 33.9 percent of the total retail sales. This double-digit growth in web-based sales was due to consumers’ preference to convenient online shopping experiences. Sales of major online sellers grew 27 percent and those of online date2018-01-31

Korea’s automobile exports return to growth in 2017

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 17 that Korea’s exports of automobiles returned to growth in 2017, while production and domestic sales slowed. Automobile exports increased 3.9 percent year-on-year to $41.7 billion in 2017 after two years of contraction. Exports in value grew although the number of vehicles shipped abroad contracted 3.5 percent to 2,529,153. Car production in 2017 decreased 2.7 percent to 4,114,913 units from a year earlier. Domestic sales date2018-01-19

Industrial materials, components exports post all-time high in 2017

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 18 that exports of 12 types of industrial materials and components in 2017 posted an all-time high of USD 28.2 billion.The value of materials and components shipped abroad rose 12.0 percent year-on-year, recording a double-digit growth for the first time in six years, on the back of global economic recovery.Imports in the sectors grew to $168.3 billion, up 10.3 percent from 2016. The annual trade balance increased by $14.6 bill date2018-01-18