Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

ROK and China Formally Sign FTA for New Era of Future Partnership

      The Republic of Korea (ROK) and China formally signed a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in Seoul today, opening a new era of their future partnership.   MOTIE Minister Yoon Sang-jick and China’s Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng hosted the signing ceremony, completing three years of FTA talks that started in May 2012.   During a meeting earlier today, the two ministers concurred that, in addition to promoting bilateral trade and investment, the FTA will serve as a platform to pursue cooperation for new growth engines in all directions between the governments and companies of both countries.   The ROK government will submit a bill to the National Assembly for approval of today’s signed FTA and carry out its implementation as soon as possible in order to quickly bring its benefits to the country's people and companies.   The FTA will go into effect 60 days after both countries notify each other in writing of the completion of their local procedures for the implementation or on a set date agreed upon by both parties. date2015-06-01

Sales Trends by Major Retailers in April 2015

  □ Sales by major retailers, including those of department stores and convenience stores, rose from a year earlier, while those of hypermarkets and super supermarkets had no change or fell marginally, respectively in April 2015.   □By product group, the sales of food rose while those of miscellaneous goods and clothing fell.   date2015-05-30

Automobile Industry Trends for April 2015

    □ The volume of South Korean automobile production and exports decreased by 2.2 percent and 6.0 percent, respectively, while domestic sales increased by 3.4%. This was attributed to economic recession in emerging markets and strong sales of multi-purpose vehicles in the domestic market.   □ : Production decreased by 2.2 percent from a year earlier to 424,402 units. This fall was mainly attributable to economic recession in emerging markets such as Russia, Latin America, and Middle East. Also, weakened competitive edge due to Yen and Euro depreciation contributed as well.   □ : Domestic sales increased by 3.4 percent from a year earlier to 152,834 units. This was attributable to new model launches such as Tucson and Tivoli as well as increase in demand in multi-purpose vehicles.   - Sales of imported cars increased by 14.7 percent from a year earlier to 20,831 units.   □ : Exports decreased by 6.0 percent from a year earlier to 282,019 units. This was attributable to weakened competitive edge due to Yen and Euro depreciation, demand contraction in emerging markets such as Russia, Latin America, and Middle East.   date2015-05-30

MOTIE 2nd Vice Minister Moon Advocates S. Korea's New Energy Policy at CEM6

  The MOTIE's 2nd Vice Minister Moon Jae-do attended the sixth Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM6) held in Merida, Mexico, from May 27 to 28.   During the two-day event, the vice minister advocated South Korea's new policy for energy-related new industries as a shining example of how to tackle energy problems.   VM Moon and other world energy leaders also announced ambitious actions to accelerate the global transition to clean energy.   To find more information about the outcomes of CEM6, please visit its website at   South Korea hosted the fifth CEM last year. The United States will host CEM7 in 2016, and China intends to host CEM8 in 2017. date2015-05-29

MOTIE and Vietnam Discuss Investment, Industrial and Energy Cooperation

    MOTIE Minister Yoon Sang-jick greeted a visit by Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Secretary Le Thanh Hai earlier this week at his satellite office in Seoul.   During the visit, the two exchanged views on bilateral economic cooperation between South Korea and Vietnam, especially in investment, industry and energy.   date2015-05-28

MOTIE Launches Battery Lease Service For Electric Cars in Jeju Island

      The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) launched a battery lease service in Jeju Island this week as part of its efforts to develop energy-related new industries.   The new service would help the island's bus, taxi and rental car companies purchase electric vehicles more cheaply without batteries, which they can lease in payments over time with the money earned from saved fuel costs.   The ministry expects the battery lease service to bring about 119 electric buses and 1,000 electric taxi and rental cars over the next three years to South Korea's southernmost resort island. date2015-05-28

South Korea and Uzbekistan Seek Business Cooperation

  MOTIE Minister Yoon Sang-jick attended a business forum to strengthen cooperation between South Korea and Uzbekistan in Seoul yesterday, ahead of Uzbek President Islam Karimov's state visit to Seoul on May 28.   About 200 quests from both countries attended the forum, including Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Azimov and Minister of Foreign Economic Affairs, Investments and Trade Elyor Majidovich Ganiyev. date2015-05-27

EV battery pack rental service to become available in Jeju Island

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on May 27 that it held the inauguration and agreement signing ceremonies for the EV battery pack rental business on the same day at the Jeju Science Park Auditorium.     Through this project, a total of 119 electric buses and over 1,000 electric taxis and rental EV's will be supplied to Jeju Island over the next three years.     This year's goal is to operate 49 electric buses, 290 taxis and 227 rental EV's. The service company selected for this project is Begins Jeju, which will build charging stations and integrated control center by September this year before launching the services.     If this project becomes a success, MOTIE will expand the service area to include other provinces by re-investing the profit from this project.     Meanwhile, other cities are also working to launch similar services: Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do is looking for companies that are interested in the battery pack lease services for electric buses, while Seoul Metropolitan Government is trying to expand EV business by having mobile charger providers participate in mobile charging services.     * Short version date2015-05-27

South Korea and Japan's Trade Ministers Discuss Bilateral Cooperation

South Korea and Japan's Trade Ministers Discuss Bilateral Cooperation   MOTIE Minister Yoon Sang-jick held a meeting with Yoichi Miyazawa, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, in the Philippines over the weekend to discuss bilateral economic cooperation and issues related to South Korea and Japan.   The one-on-one meeting took place on the sidelines of the 21st Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting in Boracay on May 23 and 24 date2015-05-26

International standards to be applied on domestic nanodevices

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and Korea Agency for Technology and Standards announced on May 26 that they plan to support the commercialization of a nanodevice developed by the Korean medium-sized business HCT by applying international standards on it.     The core technology of the nanoparticle generator is to assess the toxicity of the nanoparticles absorbed and evenly distribute the nanoparticles.     The toxicity index evaluation equipment is used to test the "inhalation toxicity" that affects the respiratory system when nanoparticles are inhaled through the nose.     There are already international standards for the nanoparticle generation and monitoring methods.     HTC is currently performing well both in the domestic and overseas markets through a series of international standardization activities, as it expects to achieve 17 billion won ($15 million)  in domestic sales and 3 billion won in exports.     Devices that are developed in Korea but conform to international standards can help boost the domestic market by replacing imported devices that are 2.5 to 3 times more expensive than the domestic counterpart. Furthermore, Korean companies can export more once made-in-Korea products gain global recognition.     The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards plans to support the international standardization of technologies developed by Korean SME's such as HTC.     * Short version date2015-05-26