Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Electricity Sales and Retail Sales Trends in January 2015

□ In January, the volume of South Korea's electricity sales for industrial use increased from a year earlier. This was primarily attributable to an increase in the days operated and a rise in exports. The total volume of electricity sales also increased from the previous year due mainly to the rise in heating load.   □ Regarding sales by major retailers reported in January, the sales of hypermarkets, department stores, and super supermarkets decreased, because the Lunar New Year's holiday is in February. ㅇBy product, the sales of food items fell substantially at all retailers due to the Lunar New Year's holiday scheduled in February this year.   date2015-02-28

Automobile Industry Trends for January 2015

□ The volume of South Korean automobile production and domestic sales grew by 2.1 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively, while exports decreased by 2.8%. This was attributed to a surge in consignment production at Renault Samsung, strong sales of multi-purpose vehicles such as SUVs and minivans, and Yen depreciation along with slump in Eastern Europe market.   □ : Production increased by 2.1 percent from a year earlier to 376,017 units, despite a decrease in exports from Hyundai, GM Korea, and Ssangyong. This rise was mainly attributable to the consignment production of Nissan Rogue at Renault Samsung.   □ : Domestic sales went up by 8.5 percent from a year earlier to 132,337 units. This was attributable to the continuing popularity of multi-purpose vehicles and new models, such as the Sorento, Carnival, Tivoli, and SM5 Nova.   - Sales of imported cars increased by 43.5 percent from a year earlier to 21,576 units.   □ : Exports decreased by 2.8 percent from a year earlier to 249,675 units. This was mainly attributable to continuing Yen depreciation and slump in Eastern Europe market, including Russia.   □ Exports of auto parts fell by 7.3 percent from a year earlier to USD 2.07 billion. This was largely attributed to economic recession in exporting countries and decreased delivery amount and KD exports.   date2015-02-28

More industrial complexes to be available for young job seekers

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on January 27 that MOTIE, Ministry of Employment and Labor, and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which jointly launched the "Create Industrial Complexes for Young Job Seekers" campaign, have been accepting applications from local governments to join the campaign since November last year.     A total of 36 complexes from 13 different regions have applied for the program, and the government organized a screening committee composed of private experts to select suitable candidates. As a result, 17 industrial complexes from 11 different regions were selected to receive a funding of 13.9 billion won ($ 12.5 million).     Banwol Sihwa, Pyeongtaek Songtan and Gimpo Yangchon complexes will use the money to buy commuter buses, renovate employee housing and repair company cafeteria, and also build new shower facilities and gyms for their employees.     Myeongji Noksan Industrial Complex in Busan will receive a total of 2 billion won to build a daycare center for the employees, while Jeonju Industrial Complex in Jeollabuk-do will spend 450 million won on building a health care center for the employees.     Daejeon Industrial Complex will receive a total of 7.52 billion won to build rental housing units, and Donghae Bukpyeong Industrial Complex in Gangwon-do will receive 50 million won to build a logistics center for resident companies.     * Short version date2015-01-27

The TPP Strategy Forum to have in-depth discussions on national interests

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on January 13 that it organized the TPP Strategy Forum with experts from the industries, universities and research institutes have in-depth discussions on national interest.     The TPP refers to the multilateral FTA between 12 countries in the Pacific Rim including the U.S. and Japan.     Ever since showing interest in participating in the TPP in December 2013, the Korean government has been listening to the opinions of relevant parties while also conducting an in-depth analysis of the effects of the industry and area.     With other countries, Korea has entered bilateral agreements with the 12 countries participating in the TPP in order to review the feasibility of its participation in the TPP.     In principle, the TPP Strategy Forum is held twice a month with the participation of 15 experts from four different areas including economy, industry, politics, diplomacy, trade laws and the respective country. They will also organize a group of experts to be more flexible in having the best experts participate in the discussion.     * Short version date2015-01-13

MOTIE launches 13 Industrial Growth Engine Projects

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on January 06 that it secured a budget of 449.5 billion won ($ 404 million) to invest in 13 growth engines for the future.     The ministry will run a feasibility study to make sure it has enough budget to develop high-speed vertical takeoff and landing UAV and self-driving vehicles that require a lot of money in carrying out med- to long-term proprietary technology development.     The final results of the feasibility study on wearable smart devices and DC transmission system will be available in early this year.     MOTIE plans to launch stepping stone projects to commercialize and produce the products with market demand by using the interim results of the Industrial Growth Engine Project.     The plan is to launch plastic electric cars for children in the market in 2015 and then plastic automobiles by 2022.     MOTIE also plans to improve the system to enable faster certification process and mitigate various regulations in order to remove obstacles that stand in the way of commercializing new products early in the stage.     * Short version date2015-01-06

Maximizing the Outcomes of Summit Diplomacy

On this page Overview Policies Overview Since the new administration took office, President Park has been actively pursuing summit-level diplomacy. Government-wide efforts are being made to translate the concrete outcomes drawn from 17 outbound and 22 inbound state visits (as of 2014) into new business opportunities for companies. Parties interested in the detailed outcomes of summit diplomacy initiatives may access the public portal website Summit Diplomacy Portal and gain date2014-12-30

A New Trade Roadmap

Expand the benefits of date2014-12-30

Fostering multilateral trade cooperation

Among the G20's key priorities, which include strengthening the world economy, global financial system reform, economic reform and trade, MOTIE is playing a core role in pursuing the international trade agenda which is a driving force of economic growth and job creation. date2014-12-30

Active participation in WTO negotiations

(the negotiation of the expansion of the WTO ITA) Since 2012, negotiations have been ongoing to expand the list of products covered by the agreement, and Korea is actively participating in these date2014-12-30

Nuclear power plant export

date2014-12-30