Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

APEC 2025 Opens Up Discussion on Regulatory Improvements to Boost Services Trade

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) held the Workshop on Recent Approaches to the Domestic Regulation of Services in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region on Wednesday, August 6, at Songdo ConvensiA in Incheon, Korea, where the 3rd APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting is now taking place. Domestic regulation of services aims to enhance transparency and predictability in domestic processes such as licensing and qualification, with the goal of reducing transaction costs and promoting trade in services. APEC established relevant non-binding principles in 2018, while the World Trade Organization (WTO) adopted legally binding disciplines in 2021 following plurilateral negotiations. These disciplines entered into force in 2024 and currently apply to 72 WTO members, including 16 APEC economies. According to WTO research, these members account for over 92.5% of global services trade, and implementation of the disciplines is projected to cut global trade costs in the services sector by more than USD 127 billion. The MOTIE workshop brought together government delegations from Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the US; Jaime Coghi Arias, Chair of the WTO negotiations on services domestic regulation; Jillian DeLuna, Convenor of the APEC Group on Services; as well as professional experts and representatives from the APEC Business Advisory Council, the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, Walmart, and various industries. The event consisted of four sessions covering recent developments in APEC and WTO discussions, sharing best practices among member economies, and discussing the impact of domestic regulation on services trade and sector-specific issues such as tourism and AI, and future directions for regulatory development. At the event, Korea’s Director General for Multilateral Trade and Legal Affairs Oh Choong-jong stated, “The services industry is the driving force of APEC’s economic growth, and its importance continues to grow as its scope expands with digital transformation.” He added, “APEC, as an incubator of new ideas, has long supported the multilateral trading system. We hope this workshop will serve as a catalyst for achieving meaningful outcomes at the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference scheduled for next year.” date2025-08-06

8th Korea-China (Shandong) Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange

Korea’s Deputy Minister for Trade Park Jong-won attended the 8th Korea-China (Shandong) Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange at the Grand Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Seoul on Friday, August 1, 2025. In his congratulatory remarks, he expressed hopes that Korea and Shandong would strengthen cooperation for smoother supply chains, expand collaboration into new areas such as the healthcare, bio, and hydrogen sectors, and continue efforts to broaden exchanges between companies from both regions. He then listened to presentations on key topics related to the healthcare, medical, hydrogen, and low-carbon industries. The event brought together more than 250 participants, including bilateral government officials, as well as business representatives. date2025-08-05

Public-Private Policy Dialogue on AI and Trade

Korea’s Director General for Multilateral Trade and Legal Affairs Oh Choong-jong attended a public-private policy dialogue on AI and trade on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, held at Songdo ConvensiA in Incheon, Korea, to discuss measures to expand business opportunities and manage risks through harmonized AI policies within the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region. In his opening remarks, the director general stated that this policy dialogue marked the first APEC-level discussion on the future of AI and trade. He added that the public-private discourse would serve as a starting point for leading APEC economies in AI, such as the US and China, to confer closely and flesh out plans for implementing AI initiatives in trade, with the goal of achieving meaningful outcomes at the APEC Ministerial Meeting scheduled for late October. The dialogue brought together more than 100 participants, including government officials from 21 APEC members, as well as domestic and overseas business representatives. date2025-08-05

APEC Automotive Dialogue Continues Discussion on Intelligent, Eco-friendly Future Car Technology & Policies

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that the 42nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Automotive Dialogue (AD) will be held from Friday, August 1 to Saturday, August 2 at Songdo ConvensiA in Incheon, Korea, in connection with APEC 2025. Established in 1999, the APEC AD is an official public-private consultative body where governments and industries across the APEC region share key policy issues and trends in the automobile industry and explore cooperative measures together. Governments and industries from 14 APEC member economies, including the Republic of Korea, the US, Japan, and China, will be attending the forum, co-chaired again by MOTIE and the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association (KAMA) following the 41st AD held from May 8 to 9 at Jeju ICC. Main agendas of the forum include prospects for the global automobile market; strategies for the ecosystem of electric vehicles and batteries; social effects of future technologies such as AI and autonomous driving; and the inclusiveness and sustainability of future mobility. The Korean delegation will present on battery safety technology trends, hydrogen mobility, future automobile technologies including connected autonomous driving, and relevant policy issues. Prior to this forum, an AD workshop for working-level experts was held on July 31, focusing on sustainable development of the automobile industry and possible ways to realize human-centered mobility to promote technology collaboration and policy exchange between APEC members. This APEC AD will provide an opportunity for participating APEC members to seek joint responses to key future automotive issues and to solidify cooperation for building a sustainable and inclusive future automobile ecosystem. date2025-08-01

MOTIE holds policy forum for cooperation with India and Southwest Asian countries

Korea’s Deputy Minister for Trade Park Jong-won attended a policy forum on the theme of “Digital Transformation and Korea-India Cooperation Strategy” today in Seoul to discuss future cooperation between the two countries in cutting-edge industries. In his opening message, he stated that the two countries’ economic cooperation and outcomes were previously focused on manufacturing sectors, adding that in consideration of the recent global oversupply and other structural issues, Korea and India should advance practical cooperation and uncover new cooperative models in digital high-tech areas going forward. date2025-07-09

MOTIE Launches Policy Forum for Deeper Korea-India High-Tech Cooperation

Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) jointly launched a policy forum on the theme of “Digital Transformation and Korea-India Cooperation Strategy” today in Seoul to discuss future cooperation between the two countries in cutting-edge industries. At the forum, Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) Research Fellow Ro Yoon-jae first spoke on India’s digital public infrastructure strategy, followed by Wellmatix CEO Satyabrata Aich, who presented on the prospects for collaboration based on the two countries’ AI industry trends and best cooperative practices. They both articulated the need for a stronger Korea-India strategic partnership in these areas, highlighting that combining Korea’s advanced manufacturing technologies with India’s IT competitiveness and startups ecosystem can create significant synergy. HD Hyundai, Balance Hero, Medipixel, and other companies operating in the local Indian market also attended today’s forum to share their experience and suggested ways to deepen intergovernmental policy cooperation. In his opening message, Deputy Minister for Trade Park Jong-won stated that the two countries’ economic cooperation and outcomes were previously focused on manufacturing sectors, adding that in consideration of the recent global oversupply and other structural issues, Korea and India should advance practical cooperation and uncover new cooperative models in digital high-tech areas going forward. With this year marking the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Korea-India special strategic partnership, MOTIE plans to expand policy communication with the Indian government and bolster cooperation in new industries.   date2025-07-09

Korea-Algeria Joint Economic Committee virtual preliminary meeting

Korea’s Director General for International Trade Relations Kim Jong-chul led the Korean delegation in the virtual intergovernmental working-level meeting with Abdelmalek Bouheddou, Director General of the Asia Oceania Division at the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on May 27 and discussed agenda items for the Korea-Algeria Joint Economic Committee. date2025-05-29

Korea and Algeria hold talks to resume Joint Economic Committee

Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy launched the first Korea-Algeria director general-level working meeting via videoconferencing on May 27 with a view to resume the Korea-Algeria Joint Economic Committee, which is the two countries’ ministerial-level cooperative channel. The only African country to have forged a strategic partnership with Korea, Algeria is known for its largest land area in the continent, abundance in energy and mineral resources, comparatively younger demographic structure, and favorable position as a gateway to Africa and Europe.  The Korea-Algeria Joint Economic Committee, which had convened three times by 2007, was thereafter suspended due to weakened momentum for economic cooperation from the drop in global oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, the two countries have opened talks on resuming the Committee in anticipation of wider cooperation and industrial diversification. Over the years, Korea’s plant and construction companies have been actively participating in Algeria’s various infrastructure projects including those on combined cycle power plants, freeways, and container terminals, and cooperation is expected to expand to automobiles, home appliances, and such other manufacturing industries. As the first working-level meeting held as a preliminary to the fourth ministerial-level Korea-Algeria Joint Economic Committee meeting, the virtual talks took stock of the two countries’ respective levels of interest and prospects for concrete cooperation across a wide range of agendas spanning industries, energy, digital, ICT, agriculture, environment, healthcare, and culture.  The Korean delegation proposed, as an agenda item for the Joint Economic Committee, that the two sides consider entering an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) as a legal and institutional framework for the bilateral expansion of trade and investment cooperation. They also agreed to discuss hosting a joint event for promoting business cooperation in conjunction with the ministerial-level Committee meeting. Noting the significant potential for economic cooperation with Algeria, Korea’s Director General for International Trade Relations Kim Jong-chul stated that additional working-level meetings will be held in the near future to settle bilateral agenda items, so that the two countries can resume the ministerial-level joint Committee after the 18-year hiatus.   date2025-05-28

57th Korea-Japan Business Conference preliminary talks

Korea’s Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn, on May 26 in Seoul, chaired the preliminary talks held on the margins of the 57th Korea-Japan Business Conference with the participation of both countries’ business leaders and led discussions on measures for the two countries’ sustainable growth and development.  date2025-05-27

Korea and Japan’s business leaders expand economic cooperation

Korea’s Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong attended the 57th Korea-Japan Business Conference today in Seoul, co-organized by Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), Korea-Japan Economic Association, Japan-Korea Economic Association, and the Japan-Korea Industrial Technology Co-Operation Foundation in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the two countries’ normalization of diplomatic relations.  Since launched in January 1969 following the normalization of relations in 1965, the Korea-Japan Business Conference has served as a major platform for bilateral consultation in advancing the two countries’ economic cooperation. In his congratulatory message, Trade Minister Cheong expressed gratitude to both countries’ business leaders for their commitment to economic cooperation over the past 60 years and proposed that the two countries’ governments and business leaders work together in setting new milestones to open a new chapter of cooperation for the next 60 years.  Noting the increase of global trade uncertainties, Trade Minister Cheong stated that joint efforts will be made for trade collaboration through close intergovernmental communication, while also providing strong support towards expanding the scope of bilateral economic cooperation in supply chain stabilization, transition to carbon-free and new energy sources, as well as joint entry into Global South and other third countries. Moreover, he asked that the business leaders actively leverage Korea and Japan’s hosting of international events like APEC 2025 and the Osaka-Kansai World Expo. In accordance with this year’s conference theme of broader and deeper Korea-Japan cooperation, the two countries’ economic groups discussed joint measures in establishing and building trust, enhancing economic partnerships in carbon neutrality, AI, semiconductors, bio, and supply chains, utilizing the FTA network, and boosting people-to-people exchanges. They also agreed to further cooperation in these areas going forward.   date2025-05-27