Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Deputy Minister for FTA Negotiations attends IPEF ministerial meeting

Trade, Industry and Energy Ministry's Deputy Minister for FTA Negotiations Roh Keon-ki attended the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) ministerial meeting on March 14 via videoconferencing.   Deputy Minister Roh stated that this year will focus on the concluded Agreements’ entry into force, preparing for their implementation, and seeing actual investment and cooperation happen at the IPEF level. He added that Korea will leverage on advanced technological competitiveness in clean economy areas to initiate cooperation and actively expand Korean firms’ market entry in the Indo-Pacific region. date2024-03-15

Trade Minister meets Singapore's Ambassador to Korea

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Singapore’s Ambassador to Korea Eric Teo on March 11 at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in Seoul to discuss measures for bilateral cooperation. date2024-03-14

Korea and ASEAN to discuss FTA upgrade to enhance companies' utilization

Trade, Industry and Energy Ministry’s Director General for FTA Policy Ahn Chang-yong is leading the Korean delegation in the 20th Korea-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Implementing Committee meeting through March 12-13 in Jakarta, Indonesia, for assessing FTA implementation and discussing measures for upgrading the Agreement. The ASEAN delegation is led by Alpana Roy, ASEAN Division Director at Singapore’s Trade and Industry Ministry.   On the margins of the meeting, Korea and ASEAN member countries will be reviewing the outcomes of past joint research projects and discussing measures for an upgrade of the bilateral FTA through a workshop on the Korea-ASEAN FTA upgrade and digital trade joint research. Both sides have been making effort to take stock of the changing landscape following the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement signed in 2020 and to push forward joint research for upgrading the Korea-ASEAN FTA. The aim of the workshop is to seek detailed directions for upgrading the FTA to enhance companies' utilization, while also incorporating new trade issues like digital and supply chains.   At the meeting, Vietnam will be briefing on its completion of domestic procedures for the ratification and entry into force (November 2023) of the Korea-ASEAN Agreement on Trade in Goods Agreement (AKTIGA), which is significant in that it will allow for a more stable application of the FTA tariff rate and lay the foundation for bilateral discussions on upgrading the Korea-ASEAN FTA.   Meanwhile, the Korean delegation will be holding separate discussions with the ASEAN Secretariat to discuss plans for contribution to RCEP and measures for economic cooperation.   Noting that ASEAN is a core partner for Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, Director General Ahn stated plans to “advance economic cooperation with ASEAN through the Korea-ASEAN FTA and RCEP.” date2024-03-12

Trade Minister holds conference with GCC's ambassadors to Korea

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong chaired a conference with ambassadors of GCC to Korea on March 5 at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul to discuss measures to expand economic cooperation on the momentum of the Korea-GCC FTA concluded last year. date2024-03-06

Minister meets India’s External Affairs Minister

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn met with India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on March 5 at Lotte Hotel Seoul to discuss measures for expanding comprehensive economic cooperation between the two countries. date2024-03-06

Korea and India to expand comprehensive economic cooperation

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn met with India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on March 5 at Lotte Hotel Seoul to discuss measures for expanding comprehensive economic cooperation between the two countries, including collaboration in trade, investment, technology exchange, supply chain, energy and new industries.   The two ministers exchanged views in-depth on ways for the two countries to jointly engage in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and other regional networks, which can be seen as part of the Trade, Industry and Energy Ministry (MOTIE)'s strategy announced last month on pan-ministerial export expansion for 2024 by building multilevel networks with countries in the Global South on a wide regional basis.   In this respect, Minister Ahn stated that the two countries need a strategic dialogue channel for discussing new industries and other economic cooperative issues on a regular basis, and that they swiftly launch the Korea-India Industrial Cooperation Committee as proposed by Korea to India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry as a follow-up to last year's bilateral summit so as to deepen forward-looking economic cooperative ties.   MOTIE plans to make progress on negotiations for upgrading the Korea-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to gain tangible outcomes within this year, while also continuing to nurture an environment for Korean companies' stable local investment through local institutions like “Korea Plus in India”. date2024-03-06

Deputy Trade Minister chairs 6th Korea-Middle East Economic Cooperation Public-Private Committee Working Group

Deputy Minister for Trade Yang Byeong-nae chaired the sixth Korea-Middle East Economic Cooperation Public-Private Joint Committee Support Working Group meeting on February 14 at K-SURE in Seoul to assess the economic diplomacy outcomes and to support Korean companies’ advances in the Middle Eastern market. date2024-02-15

Deputy Trade Minister attends Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Public-Private Support Group launching ceremony

Deputy Minister for Trade Yang Byeong-nae attended the launching ceremony of the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Public-Private Support Group on February 6 in Seoul for ground-breaking development of bilateral economic relations on the occasion of the Korea-Africa Summit 2024 scheduled for this June.   Deputy Minister Yang gave an opening message and led discussions on the summit preparation and relevant institutions’ plans for collaboration with African nations.   The meeting was attended by representatives of economic, trade and investment institutions, including the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and K-SURE. date2024-02-06

Korea launches public-private support group for upcoming first summit with Africa

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on February 6 the launching of the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Public-Private Support Group (“Support Group”) by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on the occasion of the Korea-Africa Summit 2024 scheduled this June, with aim to achieve ground-breaking development in bilateral economic relations.   Composed of representatives from more than 30 relevant organizations ranging from economic groups, trade and investment assisting institutions and major public companies and institutes of trade, industry and resources sectors, the Support Group will serve as a joint public-private platform for gaining outcomes between Korean and African firms and reviewing the major cooperation agendas with 54 African nations over the four months remaining until the June summit.   Rich in critical minerals, Africa is a vast market of 1.4 billion with a GDP of over USD 3.4 trillion. Noting that cooperative ties between Korea and Africa have potentially far more to offer, MOTIE has been making effort since last year to establish a solid basis for trade cooperation like the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the Trade and Investment Promotion Framework (TIPF), building networks between trade and investment promotion institutes and furthering collaboration across the critical minerals supply chain. MOTIE plans to jump-start the sprint towards this year’s $700 billion export target with the upcoming Korea-Africa summit in view of these prospects.   Chair of the first Support Group meeting, Deputy Minister for Trade Yang Byeong-nae asked that members strive to obtain far-reaching outcomes in developing the Korea-Africa economic cooperation through the first bilateral summit. date2024-02-06

Korea and India hold 10th official negotiating round for upgrading bilateral CEPA

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on January 30 that the 10th official negotiating round for upgrading the Korea-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is to be held through January 30-31 in New Delhi, India. Numbering 60 persons in total, the Korean and Indian delegations are led by Director General for FTA Policy Ahn Chang-yong and the Indian Commerce Department’s Additional Secretary Anant Swarup, respectively. The first official round to date2024-01-30