Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Minister Sung visits a leading fiber optic cable manufacturing company in Ansan

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo (second from the left) visited Taihan Fiber Optics, a local producer of synthetic quartz in Ansan, on Sep 4. During his visit, Minister Sung discussed ways to improve competitiveness of the material industry. date2019-09-05

Exports in August fall 13.6% to $44.2 billion

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on September 1 that Korea’s August exports fell 13.6 percent from a year earlier to USD 44.2 billion. Imports decreased 4.2 percent to $42.5 billion and the trade balance showed a surplus of $1.7 billion, staying positive for 91 consecutive months.The decline in exports was affected by several factors such as a base effect, fewer working days, and deteriorating external conditions, including the U.S.-China trade dispute and Japan’s date2019-09-02

Korea’s online retail sales improve 8.7% in July

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on August 29 that Korea’s online retail sales in July saw a year-on-year improvement of 8.7 percent. Overall retail sales, however, inched down 0.1 percent as sales at brick-and-mortar stores decreased 5.6 percent.These results are 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 four super supermarket (SSM) op date2019-08-30

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