Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Minister Sung meets with Saudi ministers to advance bilateral cooperation

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo (second from the left) had a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid A. Al-Falih (third from the right) and Saudi Economy Minister Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri (second from the right) in the UAE on January 14 (local time).During the ministerial talk, the top officials discussed key issues involving bilateral cooperation in industry and energy, as well as the Korea-Saudi Vision 2030.The ministers agreed to hold the second meeting of the Kor date2019-01-15

Minister Sung visits UAE to enhance industrial bilateral ties

Industry, Trade and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo (right) met with Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority Chairman Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak in the UAE on January 13 (local time).Minister Sung and Chairman Al Mubarak discussed ways of enhancing bilateral cooperation in industry and investment, including nuclear power plants.Prior to the meeting with Chairman Al Mubarak, Minister Sung also held a gathering to encourage the representatives of the Korean corporations participating in the Barakah pow date2019-01-14

Minister Sung meets with steel industry leaders to share policy directions for 2019

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo (center) met with steel industry leaders to share the Korean government’s 2019 policy directions at a new year’s gathering in Seoul on January 10.During his congratulatory remarks at the meeting, Minister Sung praised their efforts in achieving steel exports of $600 billion last year amid rising global protectionism and other uncertainties.To overcome the challenges posed by internal and external factors this year, Minister Sung asked f date2019-01-10

Vice Minister Cheong delivers speech at conference for global market entry strategies

Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Cheong Seung-il delivered a congratulatory speech at the conference for global market entry strategies in Seoul on January 9.After expressing his gratitude to Korea’s exporters for their efforts, Vice Minister Cheong said that the Korean government will focus on the revitalization and innovation strategies for the manufacturing sector in order to globalize materials, components, and equipment, to encourage smart and eco-friendly operations of major date2019-01-09

Minister Sung shares policy directions for 2019 with petrochemical industry leaders

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yunmo (fourth from the right) shared the Korean government’s policy directions for 2019 with petrochemical industry leaders at a new year’s meeting in Seoul on January 8.During his congratulatory remarks, Minister Sung said that the Korean petrochemical exports that surpassed the $50 billion mark last year made a great contribution to the country’s economic growth. He attributed this achievement to active investment activities and increa date2019-01-08

FDI pledged to Korea reach record-breaking $26.9 billion in 2018

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 3 that foreign direct investments (FDI) pledged to Korea in 2018 reached a record-breaking USD 26.9 billion, up 17.2 percent from a year earlier.The increasing trend of FDI commitments continued last year, achieving more than $20 billion for four years in a row.FDI pledged through the second quarter reached a record $15.8 billion, thanks to foreign investment growth momentum that started in the fourth quarter of 2017. This led the a date2019-01-03

Korea’s trade value reaches record high of $1.1 trillion in 2018

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 1 that Korea’s trade value in 2018 reached a record high of USD 1.1 trillion, exceeding the $1 trillion mark for two straight years. The country’s annual exports posted a 5.5 percent growth to $605.5 billion, which is also an unprecedented achievement. With imports rising 11.8 percent to $535.0 billion, Korea remained as a net exporter for 10 consecutive years with a trade surplus of $70.5 billion.Compared to other years date2019-01-01

Minister Sung visits Korea’s largest port in Busan to encourage shipping industry workers

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yunmo (second from the left) visited the city of Busan, Korea’s largest port, to encourage shipping industry workers who are at the frontline of the country’s exports on January 1.At the port, Minister Sung said that last year’s Korean exports surpassed USD 600 billion for the first time ever, which indicates that Korean businesses and their products have reached the world’s advanced level.He attributed this achievement to the dive date2019-01-01

Online retail sales register double-digit growth in November

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on December 31 that Korea’s online retail sales in November registered a double-digit growth rate of 12.7 percent compared to a year earlier. With offline retail sales declining 0.5 percent, the overall retail sales saw an improvement of 4.6 percent.Despite growth in convenience stores and super supermarkets (SSMs), brick-and-mortar stores experienced a decrease in sales because hypermarkets slowed down.The growth of the online sales mai date2018-12-31

Minister Sung awards government prizes to robot industry contributors

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yunmo awarded government prizes to individuals who contributed to the development of the robot industry at Robot Professionals’ Night 2018 in Seoul on December 19.The event showcased ten types of promising robot products, including caring robots and rehabilitation robots. The Korean government plans to roll out about 1,000 of these service robots to three basic local governments by 2019.During the congratulatory speech, Minister Sung emphasized that date2018-12-19