Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea and Germany hold talks on IRA and economic cooperation

The Trade, Industry and Energy Ministry’s Director-General for International Trade Policy Yoon Chang-hyun led the Korean delegation for Korea-Germany talks on economic affairs on November 4 at Grand Hyatt Seoul and discussed concerns and countermeasures regarding the U.S.’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and shared Korea’s investment environment and bilateral cooperation with his German counterpart Sabine Hepperle, Head of the Directorate-General at the Federal Ministry for Econo date2022-11-07

Minister attends 1st National High-Tech Strategic Industries Committee Meeting

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang attended the 1st National High-Tech Strategic Industries Committee (hereinafter “Committee”) Meeting on November 4 at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in Seoul for deliberation and resolution of agenda items regarding special complexes, school designations and other Committee masterplans for high-tech strategic industries.   The meeting was presided by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and attended by Committee memb date2022-11-07

Government holds 1st National High-Tech Strategic Industries Committee Meeting

South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo presided the 1st National High-Tech Strategic Industries Committee (hereinafter “Committee”) Meeting on November 4 at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in Seoul. The Committee will serve as the highest decision-making body in the establishment, execution and inspection of policies for investment, personnel training, regulatory reform and finance in supporting the nation’s efforts to achieve a super gap across high-tech strategic industries. There are 20 members from both the public (12 persons) and private sector (8 persons), composed of relevant ministries’ officials, and experts from economic organizations, industries, academia and the R&D sector. Another important function of the Committee is to oversee regulatory exceptions, and take charge of the deliberation and resolution process regarding difficulties that domestic firms face to prevent them from falling behind in the high-tech race. The abovementioned Committee meeting covered the following three agenda items. One, the Government will designate three major industries (semiconductors, secondary batteries, displays) and related 15 high-tech strategic, world-leading technologies that necessitate the protection of the super gap, personnel and technologies. Two, the Government will designate special industrial complexes and roll out packages catering to their needs in terms of securing the location, building power and water infrastructure, permits, technology, personnel and financing. The complexes will be designated by the first half of 2023. Three, the Government confirmed its plans to designate schools for master's and doctorate programs to train up a ready-to-work and specialized workforce. For the semiconductor industry, the plan is to train up 30,000 workers over the next decade, 5,000 of which will be educated through specially designated master's and doctorate courses. Three semiconductor-specialized schools will be designated by early next year to start their programs in the second semester of 2023. For secondary batteries and displays, one or two schools will be designated in 2024 after a demand survey, followed by a prefeasibility study for further designation. The Government stated that the 2nd Committee meeting is slated for early next year, as high-tech strategic industries are growing in importance and prone to rapid changes. date2022-11-07

MOTIE holds CBAM Countermeasures Conference

Minister for Trade Dukgeun Ahn presided the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) Countermeasures Conference on November 3 at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) to led discussions on CBAM legislation progress and Korea’s response measures.   The conference was attended by representatives of various companies and organizations, including POSCO, Hyundai Steel, Korea Nonferrous Metal Association and Korea Petrochemical Industry Association.   &n date2022-11-04

Minister for Trade attends IPEF Symposium

Minister for Trade Dukgeun Ahn attended the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Symposium on November 3 in Seoul, held under the theme of “Order in the Indo-Pacific Region and Korea’s Negotiation Strategy: Economic Security and Trade Cooperation.”   In his congratulatory message, Minister Ahn stated that “the international order is rapidly changing due to geopolitical factors like the intensifying U.S.-China competition and Ukraine situation,&rdqu date2022-11-04

Korea signs nuclear reactor MOU & LOI with Poland

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on October 31 that it signed an MOU with the Polish Ministry of State Assets, and a letter of intent (LOI) was also signed between Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and Poland's ZE PAK (private energy company) and PGE (state-owned public power company).   MOTIE’s Minister Lee Chang-yang stated that “this project is an achievement enabled by the Yoon administration’s policies and strong push for nuclear rea date2022-11-04

Korea and Saudi Arabia hold talks on energy supply chain cooperation

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang held a videoconference with Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on November 2 at the latter’s request and discussed bilateral cooperation in energy sectors. The two countries shared the emphasis on the need to cooperate for oil market stabilization and clean energy collaboration.   date2022-11-04

Korea and Saudi Arabia hold talks on energy supply chain cooperation

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang held a videoconference with Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on November 2 at the latter’s request and discussed bilateral cooperation in energy sectors. The two countries shared the emphasis on the need for communication and cooperation between them, as crude oil supplier and consumer, to seek out oil market stabilization measures. Noting that Saudi Arabia is Korea’s major source of crude oil and the two date2022-11-04

Korea and India hold 9th round of CEPA upgrading negotiations

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that the 9th round of Korea-India negotiations for an upgraded Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) are held on November 3-4 in Seoul.   The Korean delegation is headed by Director General for FTA Policy Yang Gi-uk, while India’s is headed by Joint Secretary at Department of Commerce Anant Swarup. Director General Yang remarked that “cooperation with India is all the more critical as the global economy date2022-11-04

Korea and India hold 9th round of CEPA upgrading negotiations

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that the 9th round of Korea-India negotiations for an upgraded Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) are to be held on November 3-4 in Seoul. The Korean delegation is headed by Director General for FTA Policy Yang Gi-uk, while India’s is headed by Joint Secretary at Department of Commerce Anant Swarup. Relevant ministries including the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and date2022-11-03