Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Minister Joo talks with USTR Micheal Froman at WTO Ministerial Conference

     Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Joo Hyunhwan (left) met with United State Trade Representative Micheal Froman on Oct 21 during the WTO Ministerial Conference, held in Oslo, Norway, to discuss current trade issues .   One of major agendas on the table was tighter trade environment against Korean steel goods in the U.S. At the talks, Minister Joo raised concerns over the recent U.S. decision to impose anti-dumping duties on Korea-made steel products and aske date2016-10-26

7th round of negotiations for Korea-Central America FTA open in Seoul

Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that 7th round of talks for an free trade agreement between Korea and six Central American countries composed of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, was open in Seoul on Oct 24 for a week-day run.    Yeo Han-koo, Ministry's Deptuy Director General of FTA, expressed hope that all parties involved will strive to make progresses for signing a high-level trade pact.   This round of talks will focus date2016-10-24

Central American vice ministers join the 7th round of Korea-Central America FTA talks

     The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's Deputy Minister for Trade Negotiations, Kim Hak-do (center), hosted a meeting with vice ministers of six Central American countries, consisting of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama on Oct 24 in Seoul as a sideline event of the 7th round of the ongoing Korea-Central America FTA negotiations.   Vice ministers in attendance were Jesus Bermudez, Nicaraguan Vice Minister of Development, I date2016-10-24

6th round of Korea-Central America FTA negotiation opens in Managua

    Trade, Industry and Energy Ministry Deputy Director General of FTA Yeo Han-koo (third from left) , who leads the Korean delegate for the Korea-Central America FTA negotiation, posed for a photo with his counterparts from six Central American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama just before the opening of the 6th round  talks on September 26. The latest negotiation was kicked off in Managua, capital city of Nicaragua for a five-day date2016-09-28

Vice Minister Woo and British Minister Mark Price discuss bilateral economic cooperation expansion

     Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Woo Taehee (left) met with Mark Price, British Minister of State for Trade and Investment at the Government Complex Seoul on Sept. 28 to discuss how to expand bilateral economic cooperation between Korea and Britain. This is the first meeting of the two parties since the UK voted to leave the European Union, commonly referred to as Brexit vote.   Korea and Britain has nurtured strong economic partnership over the years date2016-09-28

Minister Joo discusses cooperation with Alaska Gov. Bill Walker

  Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Joo Hyunghwan (left) met Alaska Governor Bill Walker (right) at the Government Complex Seoul, on Sept. 23, 2016 and discussed economic cooperation including the Alaska LNG project. date2016-09-23

Minister Joo meets with Canada’s speaker of the House of Commons

   Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Joo Hyunghwan (left) met with Geoff Regan, Canada’s Speaker of the House of Commons who is visiting Korea after participating G7 Speakers’ Consultation in Tokyo along with three representatives, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Carol Hughes, Dianne Watts and Canadian Ambassador Eric Walsh on September 5. Joo shared his opinions on overall economic cooperation involving Korea-Canada FTA, technical cooperation in clean energy sector between two date2016-09-08

Minister Joo co-chairs the 13th AEM-ROK Consultations

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Joo Hyunghwan (second from right) co-chaired the 13th ASEAN Economic Ministers-Republic of Korea Consultations in Vientiane, Lao PDR,  on August 4, 2016 (local time).  Co-hosted by Khemmani Pholsena, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Lao PDR,  Minister Joo discussed how to implement Korea-ASEAN FTA  with representatives of 10 ASEAN member countries. Joo shared his viewpoints on the industrialization of ASEAN countries and suppo date2016-08-04

Korea-Colombia FTA set to go into effect

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that the Korea-Colombia FTA will go into effect at midnight on July 15, 2016 and Colombian tariffs on 4,390 Korean  products will be removed and 2,797 items will see lowered tariffs.    In addition, Colombia, not a signatory to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), agreed to open the government procurement, granting Korea access to the USD 42.6 billion (48.3  trillion  won ) market. The Korean government pla date2016-07-14

Minister Joo holds talks with former Chilean president

 Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Joo Hyunghwan (left) met former Chilean President Eduardo Frei in Seoul on July 12 to exchange views  on how to further promote economic cooperation between the two countries by seeking improvements in such areas as the bilateral trade pact, the Pacific Alliance, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.     date2016-07-12