Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea-Nepal TIPF MOU signing ceremony

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea attended the Korea-Nepal Trade and Investment Promotion Framework (TIPF) MOU signing ceremony on December 19 in Seoul at KCCI in Seoul with Nepalese Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Damodar Bhandari. date2024-12-20

Korea and Nepal sign TIPF & launch business forum marking half-century of diplomatic relations

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea attended the Korea-Nepal Business Forum and the Korea-Nepal Trade and Investment Promotion Framework (TIPF) MOU signing ceremony today in Seoul at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in Seoul, held on the occasion of Nepalese Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Damodar Bhandari’s visit to Korea. Co-hosted by Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and Nepal’s Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies through joint organization by the KCCI and the Embassy of Nepal in Korea, today’s events were held with the participation of approximately 80 business leaders of both countries and served as a venue for discussions on the investment environment in Nepal, market entrance strategies, and bilateral cooperation measures. In his congratulatory message, Trade Minister Cheong stated that this year is a prime time to advance the bilateral economic cooperation a step further as it marks the 50th anniversary of the two countries’ establishment of diplomatic ties, proposing that Korea and Nepal step up exchanges for trade and investment expansion as well as the diversification of industrial collaboration based on the TIPF signed today. The TIPF with Nepal is Korea’s 29th in total and second with a Southwest Asian country following the one with Bangladesh, and is believed to help widen investment and trade with the Global South countries. Today’s Korea-Nepal Business Forum is significant in that both countries can secure fresh momentum for economic cooperation in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Going forward, MOTIE plans to leverage various government channels to help Korean firms engage in stable business activities in Nepal.   date2024-12-19

Trade Minister attends ASEAN-ROK Think Tank Dialogue

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea held the “ASEAN-ROK Think Tank Dialogue on Economic and Trade Policy (AKTD)” roundtable meeting on December 17 in Seoul with roughly 30 attendees composed of ASEAN countries’ ambassadors to Korea, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) President Tetsuya Watanabe, and the ASEAN Secretariat to discuss plans for the AKTD’s launch in 2025 and future directions. date2024-12-18

Korea and Thailand Hold 3rd Official Negotiating Round for Bilateral EPA

Korea’s Deputy Minister for FTA Negotiations Roh Keon-ki and Director General of the Department of Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand Chotima Iemsawasdikul led their respective delegations in the third official negotiating round for the Korea-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) on December 17 in Bangkok, discussing goods, services, investment, rules of origin, government procurement, intellectual property. date2024-12-18

Korea and ASEAN take initial step in creating permanent trade and economic think tank dialogue

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea held the “ASEAN-ROK Think Tank Dialogue on Economic and Trade Policy (AKTD)” roundtable meeting today in Seoul with roughly 30 attendees composed of ASEAN countries’ ambassadors to Korea, representatives of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), and the ASEAN Secretariat to discuss plans for the AKTD’s launch in 2025 and future directions. The AKTD is a research consultation body to be operated through the participation of major government-funded research institutes of Korea and 10 ASEAN countries. It will focus on conducting joint research on trade and economic policy topics suitable for gaining mutually beneficial outcomes such as supply chain and carbon-free energy. Key research outcomes will be reported during the annual Korea-ASEAN economic ministers’ meetings and shared through forums. In today’s opening message, Trade Minister Cheong remarked that this year is significant in light of Korea and ASEAN’s establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership. He added that AKTD will be the first economic cooperation project to mark the beginning of future bilateral cooperation and asked for strong support and interest from the ambassadors and other ASEAN representatives present. In the following session, Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) laid out detailed plans for AKTD and ERIA proposed measures for ERIA-AKTD collaboration. ERIA President Tetsuya Watanabe expressed hopes for AKTD to develop into a platform symbolic of stable Korea-ASEAN cooperation amid the rapidly changing global trade environment and stated that ERIA will also seek ways to create synergy. MOTIE plans to officially launch the AKTD in early 2025 after confirming the participating ASEAN think tanks based on each country’s government recommendations. The ministry will be leading joint research with the ASEAN Secretariat and other think tanks, while also hosting the inaugural AKTD conference in Korea during the first half of 2025 with private sector participation among other various measures to propel the AKTD as a leading Korea-ASEAN trade and economic cooperation platform.   date2024-12-17

Korea and Thailand hold 3rd official negotiating round for bilateral EPA

Korea’s Deputy Minister for FTA Negotiations Roh Keon-ki and Director General of the Department of Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand Chotima Iemsawasdikul are leading their respective delegations in the third official negotiating round for the Korea-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) from December 17–19 in Bangkok. In this third round, the two sides will be newly entering negotiations on communications, finance, environment, labor, and sustainable development in addition to the areas over which negotiations have already been in progress since first launched this March, such as goods, services, investment, rules of origin, government procurement, intellectual property, and cooperation. Thailand is one of Korea’s key partner countries in ASEAN and home to numerous Korean businesses, with an industrial structure suitable for laying down a mutually complementary supply chain with Korea which further increases the two countries’ potential for bilateral industrial collaboration. Deputy Minister Roh stated that the Korean government is actively carrying out trade negotiations with major trade partners according to plan in an effort to boost the Korean economy by promoting overseas market penetration, exports, and trade diversification for stronger global competitiveness.   date2024-12-17

Korea and EU negotiate upgrading bilateral digital trade rules

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced today that its Office of the Minister for Trade and the European Commission are entering the seventh official negotiating round for a bilateral Digital Trade Agreement (DTA) from December 16–17 in Seoul. On the margins of the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Trade Committee meeting in October 2023, the two sides launched the Korea-EU DTA negotiations based on the shared understanding for the need to upgrade e-commerce rules under the Korea-EU FTA in order to adequately respond to the evolving trade landscape amid the digital trade expansion and emergence of new digital trade issues such as data and cybersecurity. Following a series of six negotiating rounds with the aim of establishing high-level digital trade norms, this seventh round seeks to move the previous negotiations forward in an effort to narrow differences. The Korea-EU DTA is expected to help lay down a stable digital trade cooperation base for both sides through invigorating the trade of digital products and services by cutting transaction costs and catalyzing the digitization of the entire trade process, while also facilitating Korean businesses’ data collection and utilization activities with the guarantee of free data transfer.   date2024-12-16

Trade Minister meets Mexican Ambassador to Korea

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea met Mexican Ambassador to Korea Carlos Penafiel Soto on December 11 in Seoul to discuss bilateral economic cooperation. date2024-12-12

Trade Minister meets Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea met Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea Vu ho on December 11 in Seoul to discuss bilateral economic cooperation. date2024-12-12

Korea and China launch 6th FTA Joint Commission meeting

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea and China International Trade Representative and Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen led their respective delegations for the sixth Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Joint Commission (“Commission”) meeting today in Seoul. A follow-up to the Korea-China highest-level talks held this May in Seoul and the summit talks convened this November in Peru, today’s Commission meeting aims to assess the implementation progress of the Korea-China FTA that came into effect in December 2015.  During the meeting, the two sides agreed to accelerate negotiations on services and investment and foster a more predictable business environment. In view of the FTA’s substantial contribution to the two countries’ bilateral trade and investment over the last decade, both sides will keep utilizing the FTA as a major platform for enhancing their mutually beneficial economic cooperation going forward. Moreover, the joint research on Korea-China FTA implementation conducted by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) and China’s University of International Economics and Trade in commemoration of the upcoming 10th anniversary of the bilateral FTA found that as of 2023, the two countries’ FTA utilization rate reaches 73.3 percent and 85.8 percent for exports and imports, respectively, and that their bilateral trade volume has increased on an average of 4.5 percent per year from 2015 to pre-COVID 2021. The two sides are planning to launch further sessions of the briefing on China’s export controls for Korean companies and the Korea-China supply chain hotline meeting next year to continue cooperation on stabilizing supply chains. date2024-12-09