Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

The Bipartisan Council for the Korea-China FTA holds the 4th General Meeting

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 30 that the Bipartisan Council for the Korea-China FTA held the 4th General Meeting on November 20 and agreed on a budget of 1.6 trillion won ($ 1.3 billion) to be allocated over a period of 10 years.     Some of the important details are as follows:     Fixed subsidy for all items produced from open field farming subject to support open field farming will be gradually increased to 600,000 won per ha until 2020. Research on the advantages of promoting the regional development accounting will be available for open field farming.     Among the fishery policy budgets, fixed interest rates on loans for the construction of fishing facilities will be reduced from 2.5 percent to 2 percent.     The ratio of debit system for damage preservation will be increased from 90 percent to 95 percent. Calculation methods and procedures for the level of contribution will be verified by a committee comprised of professors and experts, and the support committees represented by farmers and fishers will have the chance to object before the final decisions are made.     The consignment guarantee money from the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund for farmers and fishers will be increased from 30 million won to 50 million won from December 1 and research will be conducted to improve the allocation of agricultural policy budget.     The maximum tax-free allowance will be increased from 20 million won to 30 million won for any income from coastal fisheries, island fishing and fish farming.     Jeju Island will be included in the list of less favored areas subject to the debit system for fisheries. The debit amount for less favored areas will be gradually increased to 700,000 won per ha between 2017 and 2020, and 700,000 won per fishery household.     As for pastures, the amount will be increased from 250,000 won per ha to 450,000 won by 2020.       The power rate for rice processing centers operated by a farmers’ cooperative and water supply and draining systems at sea salt farms will be reduced by 20 percent. Power rates applied with TMR used by a farmer or farmers’ cooperative will be converted to agricultural use.     The co-ownership system for trade profits only exists in Korea and it's impossible to implement the system due to technical and legal reasons. For these reasons, an alternative measure is implemented to create a budget of 1 trillion won over a period of 10 years through voluntary donation of 100 billion won from public organizations, Nonghyup and National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives.     This is a voluntary program. The government will provide support incentives in order to promote the voluntary activities in forms of tax exemption on the donation, matching amount for losses incurred and giving Mutual Growth Index Points.     * Short version date2015-11-30

Motion on Korea-China FTA ratifications passed at the National Assembly meeting

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 30 that Korean National Assembly passed the motion on the Korea-China ratifications.     According to the motion, customs duties on some of the trade items will be removed immediately if the Korea-China FTA is put in force within this year, and other items will also be free of customs duties on January 1, 2016. This will help Korean companies gain price competitiveness over other foreign companies in the Chinese market.     China currently accounts for about 25 percent of entire Korean exports. As such, the removal of customs duties following the FTA is likely to help Korean companies maintain the largest share of the Chinese import market.     Korean companies have been holding the largest share of the Chinese import market ever since achieving the largest share of the Chinese import market at 9.2 percent in 2013.     Once the Korea-China FTA is put in force, Korean companies will also be able to tap into some of the most promising service markets such as construction, environment, entertainment and law.     The Korea-China FTA is also expected to promote the growth of the Korean agricultural industry. Korean farm produce is very popular in China, which has been recording a two-digit growth in the agricultural industry since 2005.     The Korean government plans to take additional steps to set up a budget and offer tax rates that have been discussed as complementary measures at the bipartisan council meeting.     * Short version date2015-11-30

MOTIE Vice Minister Lee Attends France-Korea Joint Forum on Innovative Industry

MOTIE Vice Minister Lee Attends France-Korea Joint Forum on Innovative Industry   The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)'s First Vice Minister Lee Gwan-sup attended the France-Korea Joint Forum on Innovative Industry in Paris yesterday, which was also joined by France's Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron. In a keynote speech at the forum, attended by about 150 government and business representatives from both countries, Vice Minister Lee celebrated the 130th anniversary of diploma date2015-11-27

MOTIE Vice Minister Moon and Swedish Minister Damberg Discuss Bilateral Economic Cooperation

      The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)'s Second Vice Minister Moon Jae-do received a visit by Swedish Minister for Enterprise and Innovation Mikael Damberg in Seoul yesterday.   During the meeting, the two exchanged views on how to strenghten bilateral economic cooperation between South Korea and Sweden and other global trade issues such as the 10th ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization in Nairobi, Kenya, next month.   Minister Damberg is leading a trade delegation to South Korea and Japan from November 25-27, which is accompanied by executives from major Swedish companies like Telenor, Volvo, Ericsson, Scania.   This Asian trip includes meetings with several ministers and leaders of major Korean and Japanese companies and a srminar on the Internet of Things (IoT).   The Swedish government unveiled a new export strategy in September, which includes a range of measures to improve the country's exports and international opportunities in growth market, especially in Asia. date2015-11-26

MOTIE 1st Vice Minister Lee Visits Italy for Industrial and Technology Cooperation

MOTIE 1st Vice Minister Lee Visits Italy for Industrial and Technology Cooperation   The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)'s First Vice Minister Lee Gwan-sup led the South Korean delegation at the first meeting for industrial and technology cooperation with Italy this week.   During the meeting held in Rome, Vice Minister Lee and Italy's Deputy Minister for Economic Development Carlo Calenda discussed various ways to promote bilateral cooperation in fashion design, textile date2015-11-26

Korea and France to jointly develop new industry technologies such as self-driving car

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 26 that the 2nd Korea-France Joint Forum for Innovation Industry took place on the same day in Paris, France and two countries decided on joint R&D objectives to launch technical cooperation from the end of this year.     They discussed matters of cooperation aimed at the promotion of innovation industries, and decided on joint R&D objectives in the areas of self-driving car and digital health care.   date2015-11-26

South Korea Holds 2nd Round of FTA Negotiations with Central American Countries

      South Korea held the second round of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with Central American countries led by El Salvador this week.   The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)'s FTA Director-General Cheong Seung-il led the Korean delegation for the negotations in San Salvador.   El Salvador’s Vice Minister of Energy Luz Estrella Rodriguez de Zuniga represented the six countries, including El Salvador, Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua. date2015-11-25

FTA negotiations to be held on protecting Korean contents in new markets through copyright laws

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 19 that experts pointed out that Korea should engage in the FTA negotiation talks by taking into consideration the current conditions of the digital world in order to protect Korean content in emerging markets.     Choi Gyeongsu, one of the experts present at the meeting, said, "Most of Korean online content such as TV dramas, movies and music are distributed on the Internet and smartphones even in the emerging markets. Therefore, we need to come up with a system with which to prevent copyright violation by strengthening the access control tools through this FTA."     Here, the access control tools refer to various technical measures employed to prevent or control unauthorized access to the works, including DVD area code and access password.     Choi also stressed that Korea should add provisions on the protection of Korean broadcasting and satellite signals that are currently copied and transmitted illegally in the local areas."     The experts of copyright law also present at the meeting agreed that Korean online content will receive added protection if the civil and criminal procedures regarding copyright violation in the emerging markets are more clearly defined.     The strategic meeting for copyright protection in the FTA was called to order by MOTIE and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in order to review and discuss the goals and strategies of copyright negotiations through the FTA, while also sharing the trends in copyright negotiations through the RCEP and FTA copyright negotiations with America.     * Short version date2015-11-19

MOTIE Deputy Trade Minister Woo Attends 27th APEC Ministerial Meeting

MOTIE Deputy Trade Minister Woo Attends 27th APEC Ministerial Meeting   The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)'s Deputy Trade Minister Woo Tae-hee attended the 27th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting in Manila, the Philippines, this week. During the global gathering, Deputy Minister Woo stressed the need for promoting inclusive and sustainable growth through regional economic intergration in the Asia-Pacific. date2015-11-18

Korea and Vietnam Hold Sixth Joint Committee Meeting on Economic Cooperation

      Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick attended the Sixth Meeting of Joint Committee Between Vietnam and Korea for Cooperation on Nuclear Power Development, Energy, Industry and Trade in Hanoi last week.   During the meeting, Minister Yoon and Vietnam's Minister of Industry and Trade Vũ Huy Hoàng discussed their achievements of bilateral economic cooperation, including the Korea-Vietnam Incubator Park (KVIP) in Can Tho City.   To find out more information about the KVIP, please check this related article by Tuoi Tre News at date2015-11-16