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Industry
1st Vice Minister attends Robot Future Strategy Conference 2022
Trade, Industry, and Energy 1st Vice Minister Park Jin-kyu attended the Robot Future Strategy Conference 2022 on March 22 at COEX in Seoul, held under the theme of “Manufacturing Innovation through Human-Robot Digital Technology Collaboration.” Minister Park delivered a congratulatory message, envisioning plants of the future where AI production systems are controlled virtually and robots are employed on-site, all of which are the source of industrial competitiveness. H date2022-03-23
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Energy
Energy Vice Minister attends Saemangeum Industrial Complex Support Center groundbreaking ceremony
Energy Vice Minister Park Ki-young attended the Saemangeum Energy Industrial Complex Support Center groundbreaking ceremony held at its construction project site in Gunsan-si, North Jeolla Province on March 21. Vice Minister Park delivered a congratulatory message, affirming that the Ministry “will monitor both direct and indirect real economic impact from Russia-Ukraine crisis, building a stable and resilient energy supply chain that can withstand various risks.” He ad date2022-03-23
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Trade/Investment
Korea-U.S. joint briefing for domestic companies on exports regarding sanctions against Russia
The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) held an online joint briefing session on March 16 for Korean businesses regarding recent sanctions against Russia and Belarus. This briefing session was held at the request of the Korean government during close negotiations between MOTIE and DoC, and it is a first for the DoC to have held a joint briefing for a country-specific group of companies. The session was held for approximately 90 minutes and date2022-03-21
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FTA/Economic Cooperation
10 years of Korea-U.S. FTA: Decade of Growth and Mutual Benefits
The Korea-U.S. FTA has reached 10 years since enforcement in 2012. Statistics show that the agreement has enlarged bilateral trade, as well as Korea’s exports to the U.S. over the decade. In 2012, Korea-U.S. trade amounted to USD 101.8 billion, which grew 66.1 percent to $169.1 billion in 2021. Korea’s shipments imports, and trade balance to U.S. grew 29.4 percent, 27.3 percent, and 36.7 percent, respectively. Major exports items to U.S. are automobiles (parts), semiconductors, co date2022-03-21
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Industry
Minister Moon attends 2nd Interagency Vaccine Cooperation Meeting
Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook attended the 2nd Vaccine Interagency Cooperation Meeting on March 16 held at the Korea SMEs & Startups Agency (KOSME) in Jinju-si, South Gyeongsang Province, where various relevant institutions’ representatives gathered for discussions. After extending opening remarks, Minister Moon participated in the vaccine industry standardization tests and certification support reinforced MOU signing ceremony, followed by discussions o date2022-03-21
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Trade/Investment
Korea issues joint statement with WTO denouncing Russia's Ukraine invasion
The Korean government issued a joint statement on March 15 denouncing Russia’s Ukraine invasion along with major WTO member states, including the U.S. EU, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. The joint statement is titled, “Joint statement on aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine with the support of Belarus” and states the following: - “We, WTO Members…(omitted)…are united in condemning in the strongest possible terms the Russi date2022-03-18
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Energy
Minister Moon attends InterBattery 2022
Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook attended the InterBattery 2022 opening ceremony held in conjunction with Seoul International Electric Fair & Power Generation Korea 2022 at COEX in Seoul on March 17, where the most cutting-edge products and technologies in secondary batteries and smart grids are showcased. The Minister participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony and toured various exhibition booths displaying global top-tier rechargeable batteries and latest date2022-03-17
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FTA/Economic Cooperation
Trade Minister visits US in commemoration of Korea-US FTA 10th Anniversary
Trade Minister Yeo Han-ku and a parliamentary delegation visited the U.S. through March 14-18 (local time) in commemoration of the Korea-U.S. FTA 10th Anniversary, and met up with various U.S. government officials, lawmakers, and entrepreneurs. They met with Senator Tom Carper on March 15 and discussed the need for digital trade rules establishment through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), and held a roundtable meeting with U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady date2022-03-17
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Industry
Minister Moon visits KAI helicopter production line
Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Moon Sung-wook visited the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) helicopter production site in Sacheon-si, Gyeongnam, on March 16. The Minister received a briefing from KAI President Ahn Hyun-ho, and took a tour around the Surion helicopter production and assembly line, followed by a test drive. The event was attended by working-level officials from various ministries and state agencies actively deploying helicopters, including the Ministry of De date2022-03-17
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Trade/Investment
Korea's automobile export value grows 9.1% in February
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on March 16 that Korea’s automobile industry in February increased in exports and production, while domestic sales sank compared to the same period of previous year. Total auto output in February rose 1.2 percent to 263,959 units. Despite prolonged automotive semiconductor shortages, efforts on part of finished carmakers and completion of production facilities have driven production, domestic sales and exports to recover pre-COVID perfo date2022-03-16