Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

South Korea and Turkey Hold Energy Cooperation Forum

November 25, 2014 – The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that South Korea and Turkey held an energy forum in Ankara, Turkey today to promote energy cooperation between the two countries. The South Korean delegation included representatives of public energy agencies such as Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI), Korea South East Power (KOSEP) and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and private organizations such as the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), SK Engineering & Construction (SK E&C) and Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction. The forum follows up on the free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and Turkey, which entered into effect in May 2013, and the agreement on the service and investment sectors that was initiated in September 2014. At the forum, the representatives not only discussed energy such as thermal power generation but also covered other related areas such as plant construction among the many areas of cooperation under the bilateral FTA. In his remarks, Kim Chang-gyu, Deputy Director General for Trade Policy at MOTIE, stressed that Turkey is an attractive investment destination, with abundant energy cooperation opportunities for South Korea. After their visit to Turkey, the South Korean delegation visited Bulgaria, and the representatives attended a business cooperation forum between South Korea and Bulgaria to discuss bilateral industrial and energy cooperation. For inquiry, contact the foreign media spokesman’s office at motiefmso@gmail.com date2014-12-24

Gas pipelines older than 10 years are subject to mandatory inspection

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 24 that it's implementing the Integrity Management Program for Gas Distribution Pipeline due to the reasons that 42.1 percent of the gas pipelines are in the urban areas, and 76.4 percent of them are prone to accident since they're more than 10 years old.     According to the program, gas suppliers will be required to inspect the high pressure pipelines in urban areas that are older than 10 years, and government agencies will check and evaluate the inspection.     Liquefied petroleum gas tanks will also be subject to history management system starting from 2016. It will be done by attaching an RFID to the LP gas tanks to manage the entire manufacturing, sales and inspection processes, and provide information to consumers.     MOTIE expects that implementing this system can reduce LP gas-related accidents by 75.6 percent, and save 72 billion won ($ 63 million) on safety costs.     In addition to this, rubber hoses in LP gas facilities will be replaced with metal pipes, and more timer corks will be supplied to automatically cut off the gas after a set period of time.     * Short version date2014-12-24

Korean students to work as interns at Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 23 that starting from January next year, Korean students will work as interns at Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) for eight weeks.     During this period, they'll learn the operation of nuclear power plants by working with the ENEC staff of various nationalities.     At the same time, ENEC will start hiring Korean college graduates.     In return, 30 college students in the UAE will work as interns at Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., LTD (KHNP) and other nuclear power-related agencies in Korea.     * Short version date2014-12-23

Korean national gas services see improved scores in assessments

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 22 that after conducting an assessment of services provided by 33 city gas companies throughout the country, it has found that the number of "Excellent" companies has increased from 1 to 7 last year, and the number of "Unsatisfactory" companies has decreased from 10 to 4.     Their average score has also increased from 74.7 to 82.6.     Some of the exemplary cases include one of the gas companies' development and distribution of mobile apps for self-inspection and gas bills for the convenience of gas users, while another company reduced the time of response to complaints by having its employees manage the complaints on a real-time basis.     MOTIE encourages competition between companies and improvement of services by showing the assessment results every year.     * Short version date2014-12-22

Korea and New Zealand enter an initial bilateral FTA

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 22 that Korea and New Zealand entered an initial bilateral FTA on December 22, 2014 in Wellington, New Zealand.   The English version of the FTA is posted on MOTIE's FTA Homepage (www.fta.go.kr), followed by the Korean version after proofreading.   The two countries agreed to officially sign the FTA in the first half of 2015, and the FTA will be officially put in force after ratifications by the National Assembly.     * Short version date2014-12-22

MOTIE Hosts Foreign Investment Week 2014

About 300 foreign investors from 22 countries, including companies such as General Electric Aviation, Boeing, Solvay, and Goldman Sachs, are participating in the event, as well as journalists from 25 countries and business leaders of foreign-invested companies in South Korea. date2014-10-31

Free Trade Agreement

Overview Current Status Publications Links Overview A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is a special treaty between member states which facilitates freer movement of goods and services by relaxing tariff and non-tariff barriers for goods, services, investments, intellectual property, government procurements, etc. A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is the major part of the Regional Trade Agreement (RTA), and is the first step to achieve a complete economic integration. Free Trade Agreement &r date2014-10-27

MOTIE Starts English Facebook, Twitter, Flickr

Those who “Like” the MOTIE’s Facebook, “Follow” its Twitter or visit its Flickr page will receive updates on the ministry’s latest news and events as well as other useful and insightful information related to South Korea. You can visit and join the MOTIE’s new English SNS pages at: O Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/MOTIEKoreaEng O Twitter : https://www.twitter.com/MOTIEKoreaEng O Flickr : https://www.flickr.com/photos/MOTIEKoreaEng ● Attachments (Picture): 1.MOTIE English Facebook; 2. Twitter; 3. Flickr Attachment 1: MOTIE English Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MOTIEKoreaEng) Attachment 2: MOTIE English Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/MOTIEKoreaEng) Attachment 3: MOTIE English Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/MOTIEKoreaEng) date2014-09-22

MOTIE Minister attends 11th Korea-ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting

On August 26, 2014, Yoon Sang-jick, Minister of Trade, Industry & Energy participated in the 11th Korea-ASEAN Economic Ministerial Level Talk Meeting and the 17th ASEAN+3 Economic Ministerial Meeting. In the meeting, member nations exchanged in-depth discussions in terms of additional trade liberalization and the increased utilization of KOR–AEASN FTA before the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.       date2014-09-03

Reducing the burden on companies in the Foreign Investment Zone by half

Promotion Division (044- 203-4083) date2014-08-28