Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

MOTIE Minister Yoon Visit Russia to Promote Industrial and Energy Cooperation

      Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick attended the Eastern Economic Forum 2015 held in Vladivostok, Russia, last week, as the chief representative of the Republic of Korea.   On the sidelines of the forum, Minister Yoon met with Russia's Energy Minister Novak Alexander to discuss ways to promote industrial and energy cooperation between Korea and the world's largest country.   The Korean minister also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Aleksandr Galushka, minister of development of the Russian Far East, on providing support to companies in both countries.   For more information about the Eastern Economic Forum 2015, please visit its English website at date2015-09-07

ROK President and Chinese Premier Agree to Bolster Economic Ties

      Republic of Korea (ROK) President Park Geun-hye and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang led a meeting in Beijing on Wednesday to deepen bilateral cooperation on trade, culture, and regional development.   The two sides agreed to accelerate the passage of the ROK-China free trade agreement (FTA) signed in June and seek ways to maximize its benefits by easing non-tariff barriers, such as rules on inspection and quarantine of Korean rice and kimchi.   On the cultural front, they shared ideas on liberalizing cultural exchange and promoting the joint development and distribution of arts and entertainment, including animation and soap operas. To this end, the Korea Venture Investment Corp. and the China Development Bank Capital Corp. (CDBC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to set up a $200 million fund to invest in cultural content, software and consumer goods ventures.   At a regional level, the two sides agreed to work closely together on the upcoming launch of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). President Park also proposed the establishment of a Northeast Asian Development Bank as a way to further promote peace and economic development within the region.   President Park is scheduled to return to Seoul today after wrapping up her three-day visit to South Korea's largest trading partner.   To find out more about the visit and its outcomes, please check out the president's official website at . date2015-09-04

South Korea and Italy Seek to Promote Industrial and Economic Cooperation

      Moon Jae-do, the second vice minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), greeted a visit by Marco Della Seta, Italy's new ambassador to South Korea, in Seoul this week.   During the meeting held at the Foreign Ministry, the two exchanged various views on how to promote industrial and economic cooperation between their countries. date2015-09-04

MOTIE Hosts WTO/FTA Moot Court Competition

    The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) hosted the WTO/FTA Moot Court Competition 2015 in Seoul last week jointly with Korean Society of International Economic Law.   Deputy Trade Minister Woo Taehee delivered an opening speech at the sixth annual event, which was held in time for the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the World Trade Organization (WTO).   A team from Singapore won the grand prize this year, while a team from Korea University took second place. A total of 22 teams of local and foreign college and graduate students applied for the tournament, of which 16 qualified to compete in South Korea this year.   Judges in the competition included members of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), such as Ricardo Ramirez-Hernandez from Mexico, Thomas R. Graham from the U.S., Ujal Singh Bhatia from India, and Yuejiao Zhang from China.   The WTO-FTA Moot Court is an annual competition that began in 2010. Teams have to go through two preliminary rounds before the top eight teams by score advance to the first round of knockouts.   The competition mainly comprises Korean teams, but since 2015 a limited number of foreign schools have been invited to participate each year. date2015-09-03

MOTIE Minister Yoon Greets Indonesian Vice President

    Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick greeted a visit by Indonesian Vice President Muhammad Jusuf Kalla at Lotte Hotel in Seoul yesterday.   During the meeting, they exchanged views on the trade and economic cooperation between South Korea and Indonesia. date2015-08-28

South Korea and China’s Shandong Province to Enhance Trade Cooperation

South Korea and China’s Shandong Province to Enhance Trade Cooperation   Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick and Guo Shuqing, governor of Shandong Province, China, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Seoul yesterday to enhance bilateral cooperation between South Korea and the Chinese region.   During the meeting, the two agreed to pursue comprehensive cooperation in the economic, trade, energy, and industrial sectors and to hold high-level talks on reg date2015-08-27

ROK and Ecuador Announce Start of FTA Negotiations

      The Republic of Korea (ROK) and Ecuador announced the official launch of negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in Seoul on Tuesday.   The ROK's Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick made the announcement at a meeting with Ecuadorean Minister of Production Nathalie Cely and Minister of Foreign Trade Diego Aulestia.   At the meeting, the two countries agreed to pursue a comprehensive, high-level FTA under the name of a Strategic Economic Cooperation Agreement (SECA) and to conclude the negotiations at the earliest possible date, the ROK's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) said in a statement.   The first round of negotiations is expected to take place before the end of the year, according to the statement. date2015-08-26

MOTIE Minister Yoon Attends 18th AEM Plus Three Consultations

MOTIE Minister Yoon Attends 18th AEM Plus Three Consultations   Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick attended the 18th ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Plus Three Consultations held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, yesterday.   A day before the consultations, Minister Yoon also signed a new protocol to amend the agreement on trade in goods between the Republic of Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).   To see the full joint statement of the 18th AE date2015-08-25

Korea and Ecuador start SECA negotiations

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on August 25 that Korea and Ecuador will start the negotiations on SECA (Strategic Economic Cooperation Agreement) on the same day in Seoul after a meeting with Nathalie Cely, Minister of Production of Ecuador, and Diego Aulestia Valenci, Minister of International Trade.   For reasons of political sensitivity, Ecuador requested to replace the term "FTA" with something else, and Korea agreed to use the term "SECA (Strategic Economic Cooperation Agreement)" instead.     Korea and Ecuador agreed that the SECA should be closed as soon as possible after high level and comprehensive talks, and signed the joint statement on the initiation of Korea-Ecuador SECA.     Both governments plan to start the first negotiation talks as soon as possible based on the statement, and discuss the details of negotiation.     Ecuador's domestic market has been growing rapidly in the recent years thanks to its steady economic growth and expansion of middle class, and it has a mutually complementary economic structure with that of Korea which helped triple the trade volume in the recent 10 years, leaving lots of room for cooperation.     For Korea, Ecuador is a great market for plant and construction thanks to its abundant resources such as oil, and it can also serve as a foothold to enter the South American markets since it's tied to the MERCOSUR trade agreement with Brazil and Argentina.     * Short version date2015-08-25

MOTIE Deputy Minister Woo Leads Delegation to Iran for Post-Sanctions Economic Cooperation

      Deputy Minister for Trade Woo Tae-hee led a delegation of South Korean officials and state-run agencies to Iran from August 23 to August 24 to discuss renewed economic cooperation with the Middle Eastern country following a deal to lift international sanctions.   "We plan to highlight the capability of our firms for major projects with which the Iranian government seeks to rebuild infrastructure, diversify industries and develop energy fields in the post-sanctions era," the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) said in a statement.   In addition to boasting the world's largest known gas reserves and fourth largest oil reserves, Iran was formerly South Korea's sixth largest market for overseas construction contracts before the international sanctions were imposed.   Deputy Minister Woo is also scheduled to visit Qatar to discuss ways to promote bilateral cooperation proposed during a visit by Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, chairwoman of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development to Korea in May.   To find out more about South Korea's efforts to open a new era of cooperation with the Islamic Republic, check out a report from Reuters via The Jerusalem Post: date2015-08-24