Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea and Ecuador restart SECA negotiations

Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo held online talks with Ecuador's Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries Minister Julio José Prado on Mar 2 in Mexico City to hold a virtual signing ceremony for restarting the temporarily halted Korea-Ecuador Strategic Economic Complementation Agreement (SECA) negotiations.  They also agreed to broaden their cooperation on global trade issues like supply chain, digital, carbon reduction, as well as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreem date2022-03-04

Korea and Mexico agree to resume FTA talks

Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo held talks with Mexican Secretary of Economy Tatiana Clouthier on Mar 1 in Mexico City and agreed to resume talks on Korea-Mexico FTA, a first in their 14 years of stalled negotiations. date2022-03-04

Minister Moon attends Korea Institute of Energy Technology's vision declaration ceremony

Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook visited the Korea Institute of Energy Technology (KENTECH) in Naju-si, South Jeolla Province on March 2 to award government commendations and attend the entrance and vision declaration ceremony.   KENTECH is a newly founded technology university and Korea’s first global university solely focused on areas of energy research and technology. The school’s vision is to “nurture global leaders in future energy research and ad date2022-03-04

Minister Moon visits rare gas producer TEMC amidst Russia-Ukraine crisis

Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook visited rare gas producer TEMC on February 28 following Russia’s Ukraine invasion on February 24, to monitor reserves status and possible war impact on gas supply.   With the guidance of TEMC CEO Yoo Won-yang, Minister Moon toured the company’s facilities and equipment, as part of inspecting Korea’s gas supply amidst rising concerns over the possible shortage of rare gases, which are widely used in manufacturing semicon date2022-03-03

Trade Minister holds "Russia-Ukraine Situation Emergency Meeting with Exporters and Importers”

Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo held a 'Russia-Ukraine Situation Emergency Meeting with Exporters and Importers” on February 28 at the World Trade Center Seoul to assess repercussions on trade businesses, logistics, and raw materials supply.   Minister Yeo delivered an opening message, followed by exchange of views regarding industry outlook in the case of further escalations, as well as current response measures against logistics risks and materials supply chain challenges. & date2022-03-03

Minister Moon visits leading secondary battery pouch producer

Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook visited Korea’s leading secondary battery pouch producer YoulChon Chemical Co. in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, on February 28. The company is among the 28 materials, parts, and equipment (MPE) business model enterprises selected for the government-led program to nurture domestic MPE industries’ competitiveness.   Under the guidance of YoulChon Chemical CEO Song Nok-jung, Minister Moon took a tour around the production plant and encour date2022-03-03

Minister Moon holds Korea-US energy talks

Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook held an online meeting with U.S. Energy Minister Jennifer Granholm at the Korea Technology Center in Seoul on February 26.   After exchanging opening remarks, the two leaders shared views on international cooperation, emergency IEA meeting results, and the IEA member states’ oil reserves release option among several measures to stabilize the global energy market.   date2022-03-02

Korea’s exports expand 20.6% to $53.9 billion in February

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on March 1 that Korea’s export value went up 20.6 percent to USD 53.9 billion in February. Imports also increased 25.1 percent to $53.1 billion. The trade balance stood at a surplus of $0.8 billion, faring positive despite high imports from soaring energy prices. Despite rising raw material prices and Russia-Ukraine escalations, February’s trade balance achieved a much better performance compared to January’s, rising by $5.7 date2022-03-02

Trade Minister holds pan-ministerial 25th Trade Committee Meeting

Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo held the pan-ministerial 25th Trade Committee Meeting in Government Complex Seoul on February 24 to discuss response measures in light of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, changing landscape of the Asia-Pacific region’s trade order, and future pursuits for digital trade partnerships. The trade chief stressed the following two points at the beginning of the meeting. One is that the meeting aims to assess the impact of Russia-Ukraine situation on the region’s real date2022-02-28

Korea’s retail sales post 13.9% year-on-year growth in January

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on February 25 that Korea’s retail sales in January posted a 13.9 percent year-on-year growth. Offline sales jumped 18.4 percent, while online sales rose 9.1 percent. The Ministry releases monthly retail sales figures based on surveys of 25 major retailers. 13 of them are brick-and-mortar retailers: three hypermarket chains, three department store chains, three convenience store chains, and four “super supermarket” (SSM) op date2022-02-28