Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea, China Focus on Green Growth

Korea, China Focus on Green Growth Minister of Knowledge Economy Sukwoo HONG met with his Danish counterpart Minister for Foreign Affairs Villy Sovndal on October 25. They exchanged views on various cooperation areas such as green growth, trade and investment and Arctic exploration. date2012-11-02

Trade Figures for October

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Minister Greets World Bank Leader

Minister Greets World Bank Leader Minister of Knowledge Economy Sukwoo HONG met with the President of World Bank Jim Yong Kim on October 15 in Seoul. The discussion focused on strengthening cooperation between MKE and the World Bank. date2012-10-25

Korea Seeks Closer Industrial Ties With Africa

Korea Seeks Closer Industrial Ties With Africa Minister of Knowledge Economy Sukwoo HONG (center) stands with African leaders on the occasion of the 5th Korea-Africa Industry Cooperation Forum on October 15 in Seoul. More than 300 senior government officials and business leader from the African region participated in the event. date2012-10-23

Korea Launches Free Translator App ‘Genie Talk’

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy has launched a smartphone application called ‘Genie Talk,’ which offers instant Korean-English translation services in both verbal and written formats. Designed to work best with travel-related speech or for everyday conversations, Genie Talk can recognize 270,000 Korean words and 65,000 English words. When connected to WiFi, users can simply type or record messages to get a translation. Genie Talk, equipped with translation technology developed by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), is around 80 percent accurate. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy is also working to launch Japanese and Chinese versions as early as 2014 when Incheon is set to host the 14th Asian Games. The ministry also aims to release versions for six more languages including Spanish, French, German and Russian prior to the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in 2018. The application is available free of charge on Apple’s iTunes App Store and Google’s Android Market. * Released by the Software and IT Convergence Division date2012-10-23

Korea, Indonesia Enhance Economic Ties

Minister of Knowledge Economy Sukoo HONG and his Indonesian counterpart Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa attend the Jeju Initiative, an event held on October 12 in Jeju to strengthen Korea-Indonesia economic relations. The two officials shared views on expanding free trade and investment and agreed to work together for closer economic ties. date2012-10-19

Retail Sales Figures for September

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Korea Announces Emissions Reduction Targets for 2013

In preparation for a cap and trade scheme starting in 2015, the Ministry of Knowledge  Economy has announced emissions reduction and energy consumption targets for 377 businesses in the power and industrial sectors for next year. After a thorough verification of the BAU levels submitted by the companies, targets were set in consideration of their possible impact on investment and job creation. The estimated emissions of the 377 companies in the industrial and power sectors for the next year amount to 570.6 million metric tonnes, accounting for 96.7 percent of Korea’s emissions. Under this plan, Korea aims to cut 17.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions or 3 percent of next year’s BAU levels, which is more than double that of this year. It is also expected to save 224.1 petajoules of energy in 2013. date2012-10-18

Minister Greets Incoming Swiss Ambassador

Minister of Knowledge Economy Sukwoo HONG meets with newly appointed Swiss Ambassador Joerg Al. Reding on October 11 at the Gwacheon Government Complex. The discussion focused on relations between the two countries in areas such as economy, trade and investment, industrial technology, and research and development. date2012-10-17

MKE Releases Car Sales Figures for September

MKE Releases Car Sales Figures for September The Ministry of Knowledge Economy has released its car sales figures for September. The nation’s car production declined 8.2 percent year on year to 343,458 vehicles due to partial labor strikes at major automobile makers. Due to concerns over the stagnant real economy and weaker consumer sentiment, the number of vehicles sold on the domestic market retreated 4.8 percent to 128,607 vehicles. Compared to the previous month, however, the pace of date2012-10-16