Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

2nd Vice Minister attends Eumseong Natural Gas Power Plant Groundbreaking Ceremony

Trade, Industry and Energy 2nd Vice Minister Park Il-jun attended on November 9 the groundbreaking ceremony of the Eumseong Natural Gas Power Plant, built to supply stable power to the North Chungcheong Province.   Eumseong Natural Gas Power Plant is a 1.1GW project, a first of this scale in its region, and is a result of the change in the initial plan of constructing a coal-fired power station to a natural gas power plant in accordance with Korea’s fine dust reduction plans. In his date2022-11-10

Minister attends 5th Hydrogen Economy Commission Meeting

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang attended the fifth meeting of the Hydrogen Economy Commission on November 9 at the Lotte Hotel Seoul presided by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, under the theme of “pan-ministerial hydrogen economy control tower for ushering in a hydrogen economy.”   Minister Lee participated in MOU signing ceremonies for the creation of liquid hydrogen economy between the government and private sector parties, and in the discussions on the new r date2022-11-10

Government announces new policies to boost hydrogen industry

South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo presided the fifth meeting of the Hydrogen Economy Commission (hereinafter “Commission”) on November 9 at the Lotte Hotel Seoul to announce the new hydrogen economy policy directions under Korea’s new regime in order to kick the industry’s growth into high gear. This Commission meeting is the first of its kind since the new administration’s inauguration, which appointed its second-generation civilian members succeedin date2022-11-10

Korea and Indonesia to strengthen supply chain and clean energy cooperation

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) held the 13th Korea-Indonesia Energy Forum via videoconferencing on November 8 with Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. Rich in nickel, tin, and bituminous coal, Indonesia is an important country to Korea in terms of strategic cooperation in resources supply chain. As of 2021, Indonesia has the largest amount of nickel reserves (21 million metric Tons) in the world, and second largest amount of tin (0.8 million metric To date2022-11-09

MOTIE co-hosts 1st Korea-U.S. Exports Controls Working Group meeting

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) co-hosted the 1st Korea-U.S. Exports Controls Working Group meeting on November 8 in Seoul with the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC). The Korean delegation was led by Moon Dong-min, MOTIE’s Deputy Minister for Trade and Investment, and the U.S.’ was led by Thea Kendler, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration. The meeting is a follow-up to the Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue (SCCD) MOU signed between MOTIE a date2022-11-08

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