Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Minister Sung visits a local chemical company in Ulsan

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo (center) visited Jeil Chemical, a local producer of epoxy resins, in Ulsan on Aug 28.   Minister Sung assessed the impact of Korea’s removal from Japan’s white list of preferred trade partners and promoted the government’s plans to support local parts and material industries.   date2019-08-28

Korea, UK sign continuity free trade agreement in London

Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee (right) signed a continuity FTA with the UK’s Secretary of State for International Trade Elizabeth Truss in London, Aug 22.   The agreement focuses on maintaining the bilateral trade relations at the same level as the existing Korea-EU FTA, allowing businesses to trade freely in the event of a no-deal Brexit.   date2019-08-23

Korea, Israel sign bilateral free trade agreement in Jerusalem

Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee (left) and Israel’s Economy Minister Eli Cohen declared the conclusion of the Korea-Israel FTA in Jerusalem on Aug 21.    The trade pact will further promote bilateral trade in a variety of areas including parts, materials and equipment industries.   date2019-08-22

Exports of Korean ICT goods drop 21.8% to $14.5 billion in July

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on August 21 that July exports of Korean information and communications technology (ICT) goods fell 21.8 percent year-on-year to USD 14.5 billion.Inbound shipments, on the other hand, moved up 6.9 percent to $9.7 billion, and trade balance in this sector stood at a surplus of $4.8 billion.By item, semiconductor exports dropped 27.7 percent to $7.6 billion, following lower demand for chips used in servers and mobile phones. Lower prices compare date2019-08-21

Trade Minister Yoo presides over 14th trade promotion meeting in Seoul

Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee chaired the 14th trade promotion meeting in Seoul on August 16 to review current trade issues.   During the meeting, Trade Minister Yoo stressed that Korea will seek new free trade agreements (FTAs) this year to diversify markets for Korea’s exports amid growing external uncertainties such as Japan’s latest export restriction measures against the country.   The meeting was attended by some 30 government officials from other ministries includ date2019-08-20

Korea’s auto exports post double-digit growth in July

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on August 15 that July exports of Korean automobiles grew 11.6 percent to 215,927 vehicles compared to the same period last year. In value terms, outbound shipments increased 21.6 percent to USD 3.8 billion. This expansion in exports was largely attributable to improved sales of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and eco-friendly cars in North America and the EU.For environment-friendly vehicles, exports jumped 102.3 percent to 25,063 units. These date2019-08-16

Minister Sung meets with reps. of state-run research institutes for materials and parts

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo presided over a meeting with the representatives of 11 state-run research institutions for materials and parts at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) in Daejeon on Aug 8.    During the meeting, Minister Sung discussed ways to revamp R&D policies in direction to raise local production of key materials and parts and to cut reliance on Japan in the two sectors.    date2019-08-09

Trade Minister Yoo Meets with Australia’s Trade Minister

Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee (right) had a meeting with Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham in Seoul on Aug 5.    The Ministers explored ways to boost trade and investment between the two countries and expand cooperation in the energy sector.   date2019-08-06

Trade Minister Yoo Attends the 8th RCEP Intersessional Ministerial Meeting

Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee (fourth from the right in the front row) attended the 8th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) intersessional ministerial meeting in Beijing from Aug 2 to 3.    During the meeting, Trade Minister Yoo met with her counterparts and discussed ways to conclude the trade pact this year. She also addressed the unfairness of Japan's recent export restriction measure to the RCEP member states and called on Japan to withdraw the move.   The me date2019-08-05

Korea’s July exports decrease 11% to $46.1 billion

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on August 1 that Korea’s exports in July decreased 11.0 percent year-on-year to USD 46.1 billion. Imports also declined 2.7 percent to $43.7 billion, and the trade balance stood at a surplus of $2.4 billion, remaining positive for 90 straight months.The decrease in exports was due to a mix of different factors: i) worsening external conditions such as the ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute and Japan’s export restrictions, ii) a slowd date2019-08-01