Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

South Korea to Launch Website to Improve Foreign Investment Rules

South Korea to Launch Website to Improve Foreign Investment Rules   South Korea plans to launch a special website this week dedicated to improving regulations on foreign investment in the country.   Starting July 27, the website (http://e.better.go.kr) will communicate and share the latest information about changes in foreign investment rules.   Foreign invested companies are encouraged to visit the website and suggest ideas on improving the rules, after which they will receive fe date2015-07-20

South Korea Steps Up Efforts to Promote Exports

South Korea Steps Up Efforts to Promote Exports   South Korea is stepping up efforts to promote the country's exports in order to cope with rising global economic uncertainty, including the slowing Chinese economy and Greek debt crisis.   The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and other relevant ministries have recently unveiled a comprehensive package of measures to enhance the export competitiveness of Asia's fourth-largest economy.   To find out about the latest ex date2015-07-17

Export and Import Trends for June 2015

  □ Korea’s exports fell 1.8 percent to $46.9 billion and imports dropped 13.6 percent to $36.7 billion in June from a year earlier, resulting in a trade surplus, for the 41st consecutive month, of $10.2 billion.   The slowdown in exports eased in June thanks to two and a half more working days, a pause in the fall of oil prices, and the completion of maintenance activities in the petrochemical and petro product industries. - By product, shipments of automobiles, mobile telecommunication devices, and steel showed an increase. The recent recovery in crude prices mitigated a decrease in exports of petro products and petrochemicals. However, shipments of semiconductors, ships, textiles, and flat panel displays decreased. By region, exports to ASEAN, the US, and China gained.   The unit prices of major raw materials continued to decrease, and imports of capital and consumer goods increased.   - Both exports and imports were stagnant in the first half of the year due to negative external conditions such as falling oil prices, the weakening yen and euro, and slowdowns in global trade and import demand from China. 1. Oil prices plunged 46.5 percent from the same period a year ago, leading to a sharp decline in exports of petroleum products and petrochemical products. 2. The weakening yen and euro also aggravated the price competitiveness of automobiles, general machinery, and other competitive items in the major export markets, causing a downturn in exports to the country’s major export markets. 3. Global economic growth slowed as the world economy grew less than expected and import demand from China declined. - Export conditions are expected to improve slightly for some items, helped by the launch of new products including automobiles and wireless communication devices. Nevertheless, external threats will continue, such as the won's appreciation against major currencies, a slowdown in imports by China, and political unrest in Europe. - The Korean government plans to announce a special package of measures this month to help strengthen the country’s export competitiveness, while continuing to monitor export conditions at home and abroad. These measures will focus on improving the competitiveness of the country’s core industries through innovation in the manufacturing sector in the mid- to long-term, and on diversifying export items and markets.   date2015-07-15

MOTIE Minister Yoon Attends Forum on Eurasia-Korea Future

      Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick attended New-Eurasia Forum Seoul 2015 in Seoul yesterday, which discussed the future of Eurasia and the Republic of Korea (ROK).   About 500 political and business leaders from home and abroad attended the forum, including Chinese Ambassador to the ROK Qiu Guohong and Russian Trade Representative to the ROK Mikhail Bondarenko. date2015-07-14

MOTIE Minister Yoon Meets with Pakistan's Commerce Minister and Australia's Ambassador

      Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick greeted a visit by Pakistan's Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan at his satellite office in Seoul last week.   During the meeting, the two ministers discussed various bilateral issues such as initiating a private joint study on a possible free trade agreement (FTA) between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Pakistan.   Earlier in the week, Minister Yoon also met with Australia's ambassador to the ROK to exchange views on ways to promote bilateral economic cooperation with the implementation of the FTA between their countries. date2015-07-13

The total number of female researchers at corporate research centers to surpass 46,000

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on July 13 that according to a survey by the Korea Industrial Technology Association, the total number of female researchers at corporate research centers as of June 2015 reached 46,032, which is over 2,700 more than the end of last year. At this rate, the increment is likely to reach over 4,400 by this year, exceeding that of last year.     Compared to their male counterpart, more female researchers have a master's or PhD degree, As of June this year, the number of female researchers with a master's degree has increased by 15.0 percent and those with a PhD degree has increased by 9.6 percent compared to the end of last year.     The Korean government put the MOTIE in charge of increasing the number of female researchers in various industries and the MOTIE has been making multilateral efforts to open childcare centers at industrial complexes for working moms and provide female middle school, high school and college students with an opportunity to visit the industrial sites.     The MOTIE plans to host a job forum for female researchers that have away from work and open the "Industrial R&D Academy" to support those wishing to come back to work.     * Short version date2015-07-13

72 percent of the businesses say that joining the economic delegation helps

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on July 13 that according to its survey conducted on a total of 177 SME's and 31 economic organizations that have joined an economic delegation to assess the level of satisfaction and effects of FTA enjoyed by the delegation members, 72 percent of the SME's answered that joining an economic delegation as part of summit diplomacy have helped their business.     As for details, 58.7 percent of them answered that the experience date2015-07-13

MOTIE VM Lee Attends GE Innovation Forum 2015

      The MOTIE's 1st Vice Minister Lee Kwan-sup delivered a congratulatory speech at GE Innovation Forum 2015 in Seoul this week.   The forum discussed a new growth strategy for South Korea, attracting 500 local business and opinion leaders, including Kwon Tae-shin, president of the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI).   To find more information, please visit the annual forum's website at date2015-07-10

A community solar power generator to be built for the first time on an apartment building

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on July 10 that a community solar power generator is built on an apartment building for the first time in Korea. It's the Hyundai Apartment in Shindaebang-dong in Seoul.     A 100kW solar power generator is installed on the building to generate enough electricity to run the elevators and hallway lights for a total of 880 households.     As a result, the community power bill will go down from 3.81 million won ($3,400) to 530,000 won. However, since the cost of renting the solar power generator is 2.48 million won a month, the actual money saved is around 800,000 won.     Rental solar power generators for individuals have been available since last year, and the business has expanded this year to include apartment buildings and duplexes. Starting with the Hyundai Apartment in Shindaebang-dong this year, the service provider plans to install solar power generators at 5 or 6 more apartment complexes by the end of this year.     The MOTIE plans to supply solar power generators to a total of 25,000 households by 2017.     * Short version date2015-07-10

South Korea’s FDI Trends in the First Half of 2015

    □ Foreign direct investmentFDI) to South Korea in the first half of 2015 decreased 10 percent from the first half of 2014. The declared amount fell 14.2 percent to $ 8.87 billion and the received amount fell 19.8 percent to $ 6.06 billion from a year earlier. In spite of the YoY downturn, the numbers still posted the second-highest results after 2014, led by signs of investment recovery in the second quarter of 2015.   □ - Potential negative factors are the impact of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and an economic contraction in Europe originating in Greece. Despite the negative factors, signs of a recovery in investments are likely to continue, due to the high interest of overseas investors in the central government's approval of the construction of two large-scale integrated resorts in the second half of 2015 and aspiration on improved investments from China by the implementation of the Korea-China FTA.   - South Korea plans to achieve $ 20 billion in FDI for the first time in 2015. To this end, the country will support promising areas such as integrated resorts, cultural content, and parts and materials production, through one-on-one consultation meetings between small and medium-sized enterprises and overseas investors, and investment attraction activities with high-ranking government officials including ministers and vice-ministers. It will also hold small-scale, custom-tailored IR sessions, which will include inviting major potential investors to South Korea, and joint IR sessions held by domestic companies and regional governments.   date2015-07-08