Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Minister Sung meets with Pakistan’s Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo (right) had a meeting with Pakistan's Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile, Industries and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood in Seoul on August 1.   Minister Sung and Adviser Dawood discussed ways to promote investment between the two countries and expand bilateral cooperation in the fields of infrastructure construction.   date2019-08-01

Overall retail sales in Korea increase 5% in June

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on July 30 that Korea’s overall retail sales in June grew 5.0 percent compared to the same period last year.Sales of offline retailers inched up 0.7 percent, and those of online retailers advanced 11.7 percent.The Ministry releases monthly retail sales figures based on surveys of 26 major retailers. Half of them are brick-and-mortar retailers: three department store chains, three hypermarket chains, three convenience store chains, and fo date2019-07-30

Letter by the ROK government regarding Japan’s plan to revise its export controls (Summary)

The government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) sent a letter to its Japanese counterpart last week to address the fact that Japan's planned amendments to its Export Trade Control Order are not based on sufficient grounds. The revisions are designed to remove the ROK from its white list for trade.Read the summary of the letter: date2019-07-30

Statement to media by Minister Sung on MOTIE's letter sent to Japan's METI

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo said in a press briefing on Wednesday that the Ministry delivered an official letter to Japan calling for the immediate restoration of normality by canceling its export restriction plan.Read the full statement: date2019-07-24

Korea’s ICT exports in June fall 22.4% to $14.8 billion

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on July 22 that Korea’s exports of information and communications technology (ICT) goods in June decreased 22.4 percent year-on-year to USD 14.8 billion.Imports inched down 0.9 percent to $8.6 billion, which made the country’s trade surplus in this sector $6.3 billion.By item, exports of semiconductors dropped 25.3 percent to $8.4 billion as demand fell for semiconductors used in servers and mobile phones. Lower prices also contrib date2019-07-22

Trade Minister Yoo delivers speech at the Korea-Israel economic forum in Seoul

Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee (third from the right) delivered a keynote speech at the Korea-Israel economic forum held in Yeouido, Seoul, on July 16.   During her speech, she said Korea and Israel can boost their bilateral ties in a mutually beneficial manner, as Israel has strength in hardware and Korea in software.   Under the theme of “the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Economic Cooperation between Korea and Israel”, the forum was attended by more than 200 particip date2019-07-17

Korea’s auto exports, production post year-on-year increases in H1

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on July 16 that the Korea’s automobile exports in the first six months of this year rose 2.5 percent year-on-year to 1,246,454 vehicles. In value terms, exports improved 7.0 percent to USD 21.7 billion. This increase is largely attributable to greater demand for eco-friendly cars and sport utility vehicles (SUVs).For green cars, outbound shipments jumped 30.1 percent to 112,093 units mainly due to increased sales in the U.S. and the EU.T date2019-07-16

Foreign direct investment pledged to Korea reach $9.9 billion in H1

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on July 11 that foreign direct investment (FDI) pledged to Korea in the first half of this year dropped 37.3 percent year-on-year to USD 9.9 billion. The FDI received by the country over the same period decreased 45.2 percent to $5.6 billion. These declines are mostly attributable to a base effect and a slowdown in global investment activities.Despite the decreases, both numbers remained above their ten-year averages, which are $8.5 billion an date2019-07-11

Trade Minister Yoo’s remarks regarding Japan’s export controls against the ROK

Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee’s remarks on Japan’s tighter export controls against the Republic of Korea were issued on July 4 prior to a discussion of the matter with relevant organizations and agencies such as the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association (KSIA), the Korea Display Industry Association (KDIA), and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).Read the full remarks: date2019-07-05

Minister Sung’s statement on Japan’s export controls against the ROK

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo’s statement regarding Japan’s export controls against the Republic of Korea was issued on July 1 before a meeting was held to assess the country’s export conditions with relevant agencies and industry groups. Read the full statement: date2019-07-02